Absence makes the heart grow fonder
by hidinginthecorneragain
Summary: After being apart for so long, can two people rekindle their undying love for each other despite their previous mistakes? And what happens when the lives of those around them get in the way? (Sorry for the sucky summary, hopefully the actual story is better.) Please,Please review cos i feel like it sucks. :)
1. Chapter 1

**A/N: So hey, first of all let me say that i am completely new to publishing my stories on here so sorry if i suck. I've been reading fanfiction for like, 2 years now and writing them for about the same amount of time. However, i've only just decided to publish one because i feel like it's the least crappy one that i've written.**

**Secondly, I want to explain a bit about the story itself. I don't actually remember how the idea came about but throughout reading the Gallagher Girls series, Macey was always one of my favourite characters. I felt that the relationship between Macey and Preston would be a good basis for a story as it was never really a focal point in the series, leaving many details of their relationship completely up to the reader's imagination. So using my sorry excuse of an imagination, i created this.**

**Finally, Apologies for any grammatical errors or spelling mistakes, my laptop is the biggest spaz in the entire universe and it likes to remove words and letters and occasionally even whole paragraphs. I hope this doesn't suck too bad, and sorry for the long author's note.**

**DISCLAIMER: I do not own any of the characters, nor do i own the Gallagher Girls series. All rights go to the genius that is Ally Carter.**

* * *

Preston Winters stood in the middle of the grand hall in the Washington Hilton deep in conversation with the French Ambassador. Another night, another charity event, he thought to himself which Preston had learned to do a lot. He often kept his thoughts to himself, as he mostly found that if he spoke his mind then it would land him in either a situation of embarrassment or trouble and on some occasions-both. The conversation had ranged from politics to charity and back to politics. And then his mother came over swiftly, grabbed Preston's arm and lead him to their table which they were sharing with two of their family friends and their daughter, Melissa.

Over dinner, conversations of the usual sort took place. Politics, charity, the future. And then Deborah, Melissa's mother, turned to Preston. "Preston, you're almost twenty five now, right?"

"Yes Ma'am, that is correct" He answered politely, hoping that the conversation was not going to the usual place.

"Do you have any plans, for the future?" She continued.

He could've replied with a sarcastic response, but that would only result in unwanted satanic glares from his mother, so he composed his thoughts and replied with "Well I would like to continue with the charity work that I have been doing for the meantime but I have no set career goals at the moment" followed by his oh-so-famous campaign smile.

"Hmmmm. Alright, and what about marriage?" Deborah asked, leaving Preston in a state of confusion.

"Well nothing has been arranged and... I mean... Well there's nobody that I wish to marry right now" Preston said, pushing a thought out of his head yet again.

"Nobody? I'm sure there was a girl at one point, am I wrong?" She said, turning back to Preston's mother who just shrugged and shook her head and said "There's nobody as far as I am aware"

"Melissa, darling, surely you remember. You've spent a lot of time with Preston over the years, what was the name of his girlfriend?"

"Deborah, there wasn't..." Preston intervened,trying to close the conversation but failing dramatically.

And then, somebody in amongst the crowd of people on the other side of the room shouted "McHenry!"

"Oh of course, it was _her_. Where did she actually go again?" Deborah started up.

"A right troublemaker that one, you must've been glad to get rid of her." Melissa's father finally entered the conversation.

But Preston was oblivious to all of their noise. Their pointless, petty small talk was nothing to him right then. Because as he scanned the room intensely, he couldn't find her. Just her mother, so he got up from his chair and made his way over to Cynthia McHenry. She was in the middle of a conversation, but he didn't have time to wait. He tapped her on the shoulder and the woman in the white dress turned around to face the boy whom she hadn't seen for nearly 7 years.

"Preston Winters, well I never..."

"Where is she?" He asked, a tone of frustration underlying his voice.

"I beg your pardon."

"Ms McHenry, please. Where is Macey?" Her name rolled so easily off of his tongue as if he still said it everyday. It shocked him a little.

"Late. Fashionably late. As always. She's probably waiting outside of those doors right now, about to make her big entrance as she always d..." Cynthia McHenry stopped mid sentence as she noticed that her daughter stood in the entrance to the hall. "There she is now."

"I...I see that..." Preston was astounded. Macey McHenry was beautiful. He knew that. God, the whole country knew that. But having not seen her for five years, she had become even more stunning that he could ever have imagined. She stood there in a floor length, emerald evening gown with a slit up the left side. Her thick black hair was piled high on top of her head in a neat updo. For a moment, she just stood there, watching everything and everyone in the room.

Cynthia tapped Preston on the shoulder. "You may want to close your mouth darling, and for heaven's sake just go and speak to her." Preston closed his mouth and nodded subtly. He walked straight towards Macey, his thoughts running around his head like a stampede of wild animals. When she saw him, she lifted her head up slightly and looked him in the eye.

Her eyes were cold. So, so cold. They showed him a variation of emotions that he knew he had once caused.

_Pain, anger,frustration, fear._

"Preston?!" She exclaimed in a whisper.

"Macey" It came out at the same volume as her exclamation had, unintentionally. "Are..Are you okay?" He asked, speaking normally now.

"Yeah, yeah i'm good. How...how are you?"

"Good, great...I'm...I'm great."

"That's..that's good." she nodded.

"God, is it me, or is it really hot in here?"

"Yeah, totally. Did you wanna go outside?"

"I was really hoping you'd say that."

They walked out of the hall silently and got into the elevator which took them up to the top floor. Macey made a beeline for the door to the roof,opened it and stepped outside. She went straight to the edge of the building and rested against the wall, looking out at the city below them. Preston copied her actions, but focused his gaze upon her instead.

The silence was comfortable, but silent all the same. Within a few minutes, Preston broke it.

"How've you been Macey?" he asked, still looking at her.

She laughed. A literal, actual, genuine laugh which left Preston feeling a little insulted. "Seriously Preston? You break up with me, leave, don't speak to me for five freaking years and then ask me how i've been? Absolute freaking classic. You know, if this politician thing doesn't work out for you then stand up comedy really is your best shot."

"Macey..."

"No. No don't you even dare."

"Macey will you just listen..."

"No Preston, I won't listen. You didn't listen to me, so why should i..."

"Dammit Macey just stop for five seconds and let me speak" Preston shouted, which scared Macey into shutting up. "I'm sorry, and I get that you won't want to hear this but I really am sorry. I know I was an idiot for everything I did and I still don't believe it."

"Yeah, well you better. Because it happened. And I'll accept your apology but I'm over it Preston."

"How over it?" He asked, stepping closer.

"What'd you mean?"

"How over it are you?"

"Two other relationships over it." Macey rolled her eyes, brushing off her comment like it was nothing.

"Ouch. That hurt."

"So did waking up one day to find a note that says you're gone and not coming back. I've taken actual bullets less painful. Twice." She said bitterly, looking away.

"Yeah, I heard about that, are you alright?"

She pulled down the strap covering her right shoulder, exposing a scar. "The other one's on my left thigh. It's all fun and games over at the Secret Service."

"It certainly looks that way." Preston stepped back a little as Macey pulled the strap of her dress back up. "Back to the other conversation. Did your other relationships end badly?"

"Seeing as I ended both of them, not really. But then again, it's not exactly your place to ask is it?"

"No, no I suppose not."

"I wasn't happy with the first guy. And the second asked me to marry him."

"Oh god forbid."

"I didn't think it was right to marry somebody who I wasn't completely in love with. Sorry if you disagree."

"No. No actually, I said the same thing to somebody today. It was during the usual 'do you think you'll settle down soon?' conversations that regularly take place over dinner. You know the sort."

"All too well."

"And then they brought up the subject of my exes"

"Oooh so it's plural now?"

"No. Actually it's not."

"You mean to say...?"

"Nobody since you. Nobody before you either."

"Damn Preston. You must have felt so trapped in our relationship if there was nobody for you to run to after you broke up with me."

"Macey,that wasn't why I left."

"WELL WHY DID YOU LEAVE?" Macey yelled hysterically, a tear spilling from her eye.

"I felt like I was dragging you down. I felt like I was holding you back from actually doing what you wanted with your career. I didn't want you to get sucked back into the life of a politician. I didn't want you to be stuck as just the wife of another political figure. And I knew how much you hated commitment. So I left before I did something stupid like tell you how much i'm in love with you and ask you to marry me."

"Why wasn't that in past tense?"

"What?"

"You said love, not loved. It's not in past tense, why?" Macey asked abruptly.

"Why do you think, you're the genius?"

"You weren't holding me back, god. I wish you'd just told me and we could've talk this through instead of...this."

"It's too late isn't it. To fix things."

"I think so. I don't know. Maybe."

"Could we...try? Try and make it work?"

"I don't know. I don't know how I feel anymore, it's been five years Preston. I hope, I really do hope that I..." He cut her off with a kiss.

It was desperate, needy. All of the anger and pain of the last five years built up and thrown into a bundle. Macey's back was pressed up against the stone wall, which was cold because of the December night. She shivered, and pulled away.

"Macey?" Preston asked, worriedly.

"There's something. Of course there's something, it's 's always, always you. But i don't know if I can do it again Preston, I really don't. You hurt me. A lot. And you've had five years to find me and apologise and did you?"

"Macey, please.."

"I have to go. Goodbye Preston." She ran back inside and got into the elevator. She wiped her eyes but the tears wouldn't stop flowing, causing her makeup to run. Macey considered going to tell her mother that she was leaving, but decided against it and went straight outside to her car which took her on a long silent journey back to her apartment, hoping to forget the evening she'd just had.

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**A/N: Yeah so it sucks, I know. But thanks for reading though. Idk if/when I'll put the next chapter up, because of the suckiness but yeah...**


	2. Chapter 2

**A/N: Hey again, I hope you guys didn't find the first chapter too bad. I would REALLY appreciate it if you'd take a few minutes to review because if I know that you like the story, I'll continue it but otherwise I don't really have much reason to be writing it. Also, ideas will be taken into consideration because i'm not writing this for myself, i'm writing it for you :)**

**DISCLAIMER: I'm not Ally Carter, Ally Carter is not me. However, she is the author of the amazing Gallagher Girls series.**

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When she arrived back at her apartment, Macey went in and sat down on her couch. For while, she just sat there in silence and listened to the sounds of the city outside of her window. Everything that had happened that evening was making Macey rethink everything that she'd come to know. She'd built up a life without Preston Winters but now he was back, which made Macey feel emotionally disorientated.

Her phone kept ringing, an unknown number that she presumed to be Preston's, but she didn't dare to pick up. She couldn't talk to him right now. Eventually, she decided to ring Cammie, who picked up immediately.

"Hey, are you alright? You never call me." A familiar voice said at the other end of the line.

"Well i never know when you're saving the world. And besides, you don't normally pick up."

"Well i just got home from a mission today, and I'm currently not busy. So I'm all yours. What's up?"

"I saw him."

"Him?"

"The him that we stopped talking about, around 5 years ago"  
"Oh crap. Macey are you alright?"

"No. Not really. It was at some charity gala and this is the first one that we've both been at for a long time. I had no idea that he was even in the state, let alone the same hotel. I'm back at my apartment now but ughh.. stressful evening."

"Did you talk? Please, please tell me you talked because you two have some SERIOUS issues to resolve."

"We talked..."

"And?"

"He apologised, and we talked and he explained why he did what he did and we kissed and..."

"Woah woah woah. Back up sister. You kissed?"

"Yeah..."  
"Macey McHenry, Preston Winters, kissed?"

"Yes Cammie. What more do you need, a movie about it?"

"Do you have one?" Cammie said jokingly.

"NO!"

"So are you two like, back together? Again?"

"Hell to the no! I ran out of there like Usain Bolt and didn't look back. And now I'm freaking out because..."

"Because you think it means something."

"Yeah..."

"But you can't get back with him Macey, literally. Do you not remember what he did to you? He completely messed you up and you can't just take him back because of one kiss. It's been five years and you are a stronger person for it. You can't let him destroy you again."  
"I'm so glad I had you guys memorise that speech"

"It helped?"

"Yes, thank you. Now I think I'm going to go to bed because the stress from this evening is giving me a migraine. So I'll call you tomorrow okay?"

"Okie dokie"

"Thank you Cam"

"What are best friends for?"

"Talk to you later"  
"Bye"

Just as Macey put her phone on the table, there was a knock at the door.

She got up and opened the door to see Preston standing in front of her.

"Why, why did I open the door?" She muttered under her breath.

Preston walked in without being given an invitation and Macey closed the door behind him.

"You can't just come waltzing into my apartment like you own the place because funnily enough, you don't. And how did you find out where I live anyway?"

"I asked your mom. Now listen."  
"There's nothing for me to listen to. Preston, there's nothing left for you to say."

"God, you're so difficult."

"Yep, difficult, that's me. The difficult troublemaking nut job. Who'd want to be with me because I'm such a handful?"

"Macey..."

"I get it, so why don't you just leave again. Because that's just what you do. Leave. So go on"

"I'm not going"

"Why?"

"Because..." He leaned in again and kissed her, and she didn't resist. She couldn't. She backed up against the wall as he kissed her neck. The strap of her dress fell down her arm, exposing her scar. Preston kissed the scar gently, still causing Macey to wince slightly.

"Sorry" He whispered, his voice low and gravelly. Nothing like Macey had heard from him before. He kissed her again and she jumped up and wrapped her legs around his waist. He carried her to the couch and laid her down gently.

"We shouldn't...we can't...Preston."

"Do you want to stop?"

"We should..."

"Do you want to?"

"No." Macey smiled and kissed him again.

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The next thing Macey knew, she was lying in her bed with Preston asleep by her side.

Bits and pieces of the previous night were coming back to her in flashes, she must've been drinking. But she doesn't remember any drink. Her head hurt too much to think anyway, so she layed back on the bed, just as Preston woke up.

"Good morning" He smiled sleepily.

"Don't look so proud of yourself, i didn't mean for last night to happen and we both know that it shouldn't have." She snapped aggressively.

"Still not a morning person i see."

"This isn't going to become a habit, I do hope you realise that."  
"Whatever you say honey."

"Don't honey me. I'm getting in the shower, and I swear to God if you come in then I will kill you."  
"Still as violent as ever too." Preston laughed.

"Don't you forget it." She smiled, going into the bathroom with her clothes.

Ten minutes later, Macey emerged from the bathroom fully dressed. Preston was in the kitchen making coffee.

"Hey, I made you coffee" Preston smiled, handing her a red cup.

"Since when do you drink coffee?"

"Two years now."

"Right." She said, forgetting the time that had separated them.

"So, did you have a nice shower?"

"Stop it Preston."

"Stop what?"

"Making small talk, pretending that everything is back to normal just because of one screw up."  
"Right, so I should probably just leave." Preston was beginning to get angry, which was a surprise to Macey. He had always been so calm. Time had obviously changed him, and not necessarily for the better.

"That would be an idea." Macey said bitterly. Preston slammed his coffee cup down and grabbed his jacket. Macey went to the door and opened it.

"I'll see you around." Preston said, walking out.

"I don't doubt that" Macey said under her breath and closed the door. She went and sat down on her couch again and dialed Cammie's number.

"Two phone calls in the space of a day, wow Macey. This must be a record."

"Please, hand me the award." She replied sarcastically.

"Are you okay?"

"Maybe, maybe not."

"Have you spoken to him? At all?"

"After I got off of the phone, he literally turned up on my doorstep." Macey said, sighing.

"Oh dear, is this going where I think it is?"

"Long story short, I woke up this morning with a ridiculous headache and Preston was in my bed."

"But did you talk?"

"The last thing I remember is opening the front door, it's all a bit of a blur after that. So if we did actually have a conversation at any point then I still don't recall it."

"Well that's not good."

"You can say that again. And I have a feeling that he'll be at the fundraiser tonight, but of course I didn't ask because really that was the last thing on my mind."

"What's the fundraiser for?"

"Like I know, I just get dragged along to these events."

"Don't try and get out of it either, you need to face him. You've gotta talk to him and I honestly don't care what you think because you need the closure. And you know it."

"Ugh, i hate how you're right. Do you think I should call him and tell him to come back or.."

"No, wait until tonight. He's bound to be there, unless he's avoiding you, which really isn't the way he deals with these sort of things as far as I know."

"Hmm, I suppose that's true. Okay, well, i'll wait until tonight and i'll talk to him then."

"Good good. Now you do realise that it's like half 1 in the afternoon."

"Oh god really? Fundraiser is at 6 and i've still got to get ready."

"You actually spend so much time getting ready."  
"There are two things that i have a lot of. Time and money. And I feel it best to spend them whilst I still have them."

"I might quote you on that."  
"You do that. I'll talk to you later."

"I shall expect another call somewhere between three hours and three months."

"That is a wise thing to do."

"Bye Mace"

"Bye Cammie." She set her phone down on her coffee table again and got up off of the couch and decided to start getting ready. If she absolutely had to go to this event tonight, she was going to do it in style.

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**A/N: Thank you for reading, and sorry for any spelling/grammar mistakes. As i have previously explain, my laptop is the biggest spaz in the entire universe. And p****leeeaasse review, especially if you have criticisms because all forms of opinions are welcome and taken into consideration.**

**Also, my updates are probably going to be extremely temperamental. If I get time during the week then i will update, but if not then it'll mostly be on the weekends. **

**Thanking you very much :) x**


	3. Chapter 3

**A/N: So here it is. Chapter 3. Things kinda get a bit messy in this chapter and it's all very weird and I apologise. So have fun, sorry for any mistakes and please don't hate it too much.**

**DISCLAIMER: Although it is very unfortunate, I am not Ally Carter and I do not own the Gallagher Girls series. Sad, I know.**

* * *

It took Macey 3 hours and 50 minutes to get ready. This really was not that long in McHenry time (Which Liz was prepared to petition to be made into an _actual_ unit of time). Macey was dressed in a floor length silver evening gown which had one strap over her shoulder, covering her bullet wound scar. She had on a pair of silver heels and a sparkly clutch bag to match. Her long black hair sat in loose curls over her shoulders, making her wonder why she ever cut it when she was younger. She walked out to her car which drove her to the Ritz-Carlton hotel where yet another one of her mother's fundraisers was being held.

She stepped out of the car and into a sea of reporters. At first, it was difficult for Macey to adjust back to being in the eyes of the press but after a few seconds she felt like her old self again. After posing for a few pictures, Macey waltzed inside. She was exactly 5 minutes early which was extremely unusual for her, seeing as she normally waited at least 20 minutes after the last guest had arrived and then walked in, just to make an entrance. But tonight was different, she wasn't looking to impress the whole entire hall. She didn't want everyone to talk about her. She wanted to talk to Preston. And that's what she was determined to do.

That was, until she walked in the ballroom, filled with people and already alive with thousands of meaningless conversations. Immediately she saw him, looking as handsome as ever, but his arm was linked to somebody else's. It was Melissa.

Of course. She was stupid to have thought that he'd wait to sort things out with her before he realised that it was time to move on. She coughed slightly, trying not to let her emotions get the better of her. Macey looked over at Melissa and Preston again. Melissa said something that was obviously funny because everyone in the conversation laughed, all except Preston. Who smiled and continued to talk. But she saw through the smile, it was as fake as half of the people in that room.

Macey walked through the hall and over towards Preston. Before she could even reached him, he pulled his arm away from Melissa and turned to face Macey.

"What are you doing here?" He whispered in her ear, trying not to cause a scene.

"I was invited. My mother helped organise it. I genuinely couldn't get out of it, believe me I tried. Your girlfriend looks pretty." Macey said snarkily, gesturing towards Melissa.

"She's not my girlfriend. And are you seriously being bitter?"

"Sorry, today's not exactly a good day." Macey snapped back.

"Why? What's happened?"

"It's an anniversary of something and it's not something I want to remember." she said quietly, causing Preston to become confused.

"Do you wanna go outside and talk? People are staring."

"People are always staring." Macey walked out and Preston followed. They stood in the hallway and waited for a few people to pass by before they spoke.

"So you want to talk now?" Preston asked

"Well I would've spoken to you earlier but I was being really bitchy and i'm sorry it's just..." Macey wiped away a tear that spilled over her eyelid.

"Talk to me Macey, come on."

"Don't get mad though, promise you won't get mad?"

"Promise."

"A week or so after you left, I got sick. So I went to the doctor and they told me I was pregnant. Two months pregnant."

"Oh my god." Preston looked down, not wanting or needing to hear any more.

"I lost it. I had a miscarriage. It's fine it just, gets to me sometimes. And it's been five years since it happened today so..." Preston pulled Macey into a hug and despite how much she wanted to, she didn't resist.

"You should've called. You could've called me Macey..."

" And said what? Hi, sorry if you hate me but I'm carrying your child. Oh by the way, I can't stop crying because you left me but I doubt that you care."

" Macey..."

" Look, it really doesn't matter now. What's done is done so if you're finished and this conversation is over then we can both go back to our lives."

" Were you ever going to tell me? "

" No. No I wasn't."

"Boy or girl? "

" Boy."

" Who else knew?"

" Cam,Liz,Bex,my mom, my dad. And..." She hesitated.

" And?"

"And your mom."

" Wait...what? "

" My mother told your mom. I didn't know if she'd told you so when I didn't hear from you I presumed that she hadn't said anything."

" She...she knew? "

" I'm sorry."

" If you hadn't have lost it...what were you planning to do?"

" You're really not going to want to hear this..."

" Tell me Macey" his voice turned dark and cold.

" Your mom...she...she made an agreement with my family and I was going to go away for a while. I was to give birth to the baby and then it'd be taken away and given up for adoption. They didn't want it to get out into the press. I was already being hounded by reporters because of the breakup and if they had found out about the pregnancy then they would've just harassed you too. I'm pretty sure our parents had the couple picked out for adoption before i'd even started showing. They weren't planning on telling you..." Macey was crying now. And as much as she tried,she couldn't stop.

Anger filled Preston's face and it was clear to see that he was getting angrier.

He turned,walked down the hall and burst through the doors of the ballroom in a fit of rage. Macey followed him closely, drying the tears from her eyes.

" Preston" she called out across the room. "Preston stop." But he didn't listen. He walked straight over to his mother.

" Preston, you look...irritated" she exclaimed, trying not to cause a scene.

" Yeah. Yeah I suppose you could say that mother."

Macey hurried to his side.

" Oh dear lord. Macey, your makeup is halfway down your face" Macey's mother sighed.

" Shut up mom" Macey snapped.

" Whatever is the matter with you two? " Macey's father asked,trying to calm the situation.

"You knew. I can't believe you didn't tell me" Preston shouted at his mother.

" Knew about what? " she asked.

" Macey was pregnant. And you didn't say anything." he had whispered it, but people could still hear.

The whole room had gone quiet, and people were starting to stare.

" I think we should go somewhere else to talk about this." Macey's father said subtly and they all walked out of the ballroom and into one of the smaller function rooms nearby.

" Why the hell didn't you tell me?" Preston exploded the second the doors closed.

" It was five years ago Preston. You were younger and more immature than you are now. You couldn't have handled a baby. You couldn't even look after yourself." His mother stated.

" That's not true."

" We felt that it was best to keep it quiet." Cynthia said.

" You didn't want me, let alone my baby. I'm not surprised that they didn't tell you." Macey said quietly.

" She does have a point." Preston's mother added.

"And suddenly this has turned into a competition of who can insult me the most. Thanks Mace, really feeling the love."

" Your welcome." Macey rolled her eyes.

" We're a bit off topic in case nobody noticed." Preston said.

" Well what's left to be said? We know that you're pissed off, we get that."

"What's done is done, there really isn't anything we can do now Preston." His mother informed, as if he didn't already know.

"That's not the point, the point is nobody told me and that makes me feel really really crappy." Preston shouted, which shocked everybody a little. He didn't shout very often.

"Preston, just calm down" Macey put her hand on his arm, but jumped and moved away leaving Macey feeling a little hurt.

"I think we should leave you two to talk. God knows, there's definitely some kind of underlying tension that none of us can resolve." Macey's father said, as he linked his arm with Cynthia's and they walked out of the room closely followed by Preston's mother.

"It's not true. What you said, about me not wanting you." Preston broke the silence.

"Well I know that now, five years too late."

"I was an idiot, I shouldn't have walked away."  
"You can say that again."

"I'd rather not."  
"Why didn't you come back and see me? Why didn't you call me?"

"I didn't want to hurt you"

"You should've thought about that before you left."

"Macey..."

"Honestly Preston,you can keep apologising and apologising but in the end I think that there will always be a small part of me that hates you for what you did. Did you honestly not think that ignoring me would hurt me just as much? You really have no clue what it was like for me."

"Mace, please..."

"Let me finish. And the worst part is that now we've seen each other again. What with the kissing and the drinking and the unintentional sleeping together incident, i'm so confused. I don't know whether I hate you or if I love you and everything is just a blurry mess. And my head hurts. And my heart hurts. And I don't know what to do anymore, because the last thing I want to be doing is sitting here crying in front of you and I really don't need the pity but I don't know what I should do." She sighed, and looked down slightly

"I'll stay away."

"What?" Her head shot up immediately. He couldn't leave her, not again.

"Give you time, and space and whatever you need. I'll let you clear your head. No matter how long it takes."

"Preston..."

"I'm going Macey, i'll be back. But i'm going." Preston walked out of the door without looking back, leaving Macey baffled and unsure of what to do next.

She sat on the floor, not caring what she looked like. Because she felt like a small child. She wished she was a small child, and that she could hide in bed all day because somebody had upset her. But she knew that there was a difference between a little girl crying on the floor because someone was playing with her toy and a grown woman crying on the floor because someone had decided to play with her heart. So she got up, dried her eyes and walked out of the hotel,determined to get home without bursting into tears again.

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**A/N: I warned you. Messy. And can I just say how proud I am of that last paragraph? Very proud I am.**

**My updates are literally going to be all over the place but they'll probably be quite regular until I figure out where on earth i'm dragging this story. **

**Thank you for reading, and pleeassee review :) x**


	4. Chapter 4

**A/N: I figured I should put this chapter up too because I was going to do one yesterday and one today, and then it wouldn't work. So welcome to chapter 4.**

**Personally I dislike this chapter a lot. But it sorts some things out before i throw another problem in the loop. So yeah, enjoy it if that's possible.**

**DISCLAIMER: These characters aren't mine, neither is the series and all rights go to Ally Carter. Ya get the point.**

* * *

Within minutes of her being back at her apartment, Macey heard a knock at the door. At first she ignored it, hoping that whoever it was would just go and leave her in peace because after the evening she'd had, she really was not in the mood for any kind of contact with anybody. But the knocking continued so she went to the door, took a deep breath and opened it.

"Are you actually kidding me?" She said looking at Preston, who was standing, once again, on her doorstep.

"I screwed up. Like I really screwed up and I get that now and i mean, I do this a lot don't I?" He slurred drunkenly.

"Oh god, are you drunk?" Macey sighed. She already knew the answer but it worried her, because she'd only ever seen Preston get drunk once.

"Little bit." Preston nodded, laughing slightly.

"Come in, sit down." She said, shutting the door and directing him to the couch.

"I made a really bad mistake Macey, i'm sorry and i know that I'm just one big screw up. Everything i do is wrong and it upsets somebody and i mean, what use am i to anybody? So much for going into politics. Although that might be good because politicians are normally the most hated people in the world. And that's what i am. And you know what? I'm just like him, just like my father. That's what I'm going to be. Samuel Winters 2.0." he rambled. As much as it worried her, Preston was quite amusing when he was drunk.

"Hey! I do not want to hear you say that again, ever! You are nothing like that man and you know it. And you aren't hated by anyone. You're one of the most liked and respected men in this country. And just because you made a few mistakes doesn't mean that you're a bad person. You've got to start realising that not everybody is going to turn on you because you made a mistake. Everybody does it, god knows i've made more mistakes than i'd like to count."

"Macey, why are you doing this, why are you being nice?"

"I think you know why. Look, you can crash here tonight because there is no way i'm letting you go back outside in case there's any reporters. The last thing you need is a three page spread on how drunk you've the only person that would hate you would be your mother."

"Macey, it's fine. I'll go." Preston said, starting to get up.

"Nope. You can stay in my room, i'll sleep on the couch." She pulled him back down.

"Okay no, i'll stay but i'm not taking your room."

"You slept there last night and didn't have a problem with it." Macey joked.

"Fine, if you insist." Macey took Preston through to her room. Within seconds of him being on the bed, he was asleep. Macey went and sat on the couch again. She looked at the clock, 3:30am. The day had gone so fast, and she couldn't remember most of it.

Part of her didn't want to sleep in case Preston woke up but she was pretty sure that he wouldn't because of how intoxicated he was. And part of her didn't want to sleep because her brain was working overtime and the thoughts that were racing around her head wouldn't stop.

_He left me._

_But he came back._

_But he's drunk._

_Does he remember?_

_Of course he does, stupid._

_Do I love him?_

_Does he love me?_

_Do I hate him?_

_Does he hate me?_

_Do I hate myself?_

* * *

It was only seven o'clock in the morning when she actually woke up again. She had absolutely no idea when she'd fallen asleep, but she had obvious fallen asleep on the couch with her phone in her hand. Macey got up and walked into her bedroom, she grabbed a pair of sweatpants and an old hoodie that belonged to her dad. She quickly went into her bathroom and got changed. As she left the bathroom as quietly as she could, she looked over at Preston who was now awake.

"Oh, sorry. Did I wake you?" she asked.

"No. no it wasn't you. I woke up anyway."

"Right, okay?" she could sense the mood beginning to get awkward, as it normally did.

"Erm...Mace, in the nicest possible way, what am i doing here?"

"How much do you remember?" She sighed, sitting down on the bed next to him.

"I remember arguing with you at the hotel, I remember leaving but after that...complete and utter blur."

"You obviously got completely smashed because you turned up on my doorstep at 3am, talking about how you'd made bad mistakes and how you'd screwed up. And then you said something about being useless and too much like your father, at which point I yelled at you, told you to stop being completely stupid and told you to go to sleep."

"You didn't have to do that. You could've just called a cab." Preston sighed, rubbing his forehead which showed Macey that he was stressed and slightly embarrassed.

"You know I don't do that to anyone when they're extremely drunk and a complete mess. Especially not someone that I..." she tried to stop herself but the sentence had gotten out.

"That you..?" he questioned.

"Damn it." Macey cursed under her breath, wishing that she hadn't opened her mouth.

"Talk." Preston demanded.

"I was up for hours last night. Confused as hell and trying to figure out what it is exactly that i'm feeling because there are so many thoughts racing around my head."

"Thoughts about what?"

"You. You've crashed back into my life at full speed and it's destroyed any walls that i've built up since you left and I think I still love you" Macey blurted out before she could take the words back and as soon as she had said it, she wanted the ground to open up and swallow her.

"I'm giving you a minute to take that back before we have to talk." Preston said.

Macey remained silent, with her face buried in a pillow for the duration of a minute. She knew that they needed to talk, she just didn't want it to be now.

"59, 60. Right, your minute is up."

"What exactly are you expecting me to say?" Macey lifted her head up again, but she still didn't look him in the eye.

"Well, where does this leave us exactly?"

"We're still in my bedroom, in my apartment..." she trailed off sarcastically.

"Not literally, you know what I mean."

"I know what you mean, that doesn't mean I know the answer." she sighed, the state of confusion still messing with her head.

"Well do you want to get back together or..?"

"We can't. Can we?"

"We could. We can..."

"Well?"

And then the first shot rang out...

* * *

**A/N: It literally gets more and more messed up from here. Because when things seem to be going right, why not throw in another problem?**

**Thank you for reading, pleeassee review. :) x**


	5. Chapter 5

**A/N: I'm sorry, I know I'm such a bad bad person and I was meant to update this weekend but life got in the way.**

**It's half term here in ever-so-sunny England and I'm going to France on Thursday, so I thought i'd try and get at least ONE chapter up before then. So here it is, and sorry because it's weird. Really weird.**

**DISCLAIMER: I do not own the Gallagher Girls series, or any characters however the weirdly messed up story is all mine. **

* * *

"What the hell was that?" Preston asked, shocked.

"A gunshot. Quite obviously." Macey stated quite calmly whilst getting up off of the bed and walking over to the window.

"Hey, isn't that a bad idea, in case, you know...they fire ag..." The second shot rang out, cutting Preston's sentence short.

"At least two people injured, if not dead. Damn it." Macey ran to her closet, pulled out the her jeans and a black t shirt-the first things she could find. She took off her clothes, completely forgetting that Preston was right in front of her, and changed into the outfit that she had got out in less than 30 seconds. Then she pulled on her black boots and leather jacket and walked towards the door.

"Mace, what are you doing?" He asked, with a cautious tone in his voice, following her.

"I'm going out there, there's obviously a threat to national security and this is my job."  
"You could get hurt."

"It's not like it hasn't happened before"

"Well just don't go jumping in front of any bullets then."

"Like I said, it's my job. If it protects somebody else then it doesn't matter."

"But there isn't anyone to protect you."

"Some of us have to be our own heroes, I learned that a long time ago." And with that, she was gone.

Macey ran down the stairs, after deciding that waiting for the elevator was probably a bad idea. When she got outside of the building, she saw chaos. Everywhere, people were running, grabbing their husbands, wives and children and trying to get them away. Macey couldn't spot the exact site of the attack, so she went over to a couple of bystanders.

"Hey, would you mind telling me what happened?" Macey asked casually,as if she was just another ignorant American.

"Nobody knows how it started, but a shot rang out and then a man collapsed, and then again but it hit a woman. Now everybody's going mad."

"Right, thank you for your help" She smiled quickly and ran across the street where she saw a little girl standing alone. The girl couldn't have been any older than 4, she had white-blonde hair that sat at her shoulders.

"Hey sweetie, where's your mommy?" Macey questioned the girl.

The little girl stayed silent, but she extended her arm out and pointed to a crowd of people in the centre of the street. She could see a woman on the floor.

"That's your mom? On the floor?"

The girl nodded with her thumb in her mouth.

"Can you do me a favour, wait right here okay? I'm going to try and help your mom."  
The little girl nodded again and Macey ran back over to the middle of the street.

When she reached the centre of the ruckus, she could see the full extent of the woman's injuries. She had a hole in her left thigh, one in her left arm and the other in her stomach. Macey bent down to talk to the woman.

"Hey, hey can you hear me?"

"Y...y..yeah." The woman groaned.

"You've been shot, three times."

"Evie... oh my god, Evie."  
"Evie, is that your daughter?"

"Yes.. please, get her out of here, you can't let them get her."  
"Wait, them? Somebody's targeting you?"

"Just take Evie. Get her out of here. Please. I'll be okay. Take this and go." The woman handed Macey a small silver locket. Macey was unsure at first, but she knew that she had to do what the woman had said. So she nodded slowly,got up and ran back over to the sidewalk, where Evie was sat with her thumb in her mouth.

"Mommy? Where's my mommy?"

"Evie, we've gotta get you inside, come with me" Macey gave the girl her hand and they ran back into the apartment block. They ran up the stairs until they reached Macey's front door. Macey pounded her fist on the door.

"Preston open the damn door! " she shouted and he opened the door immediately.

"What's happened?"

"Whoever fired the shots, they have a target. Preston, meet Evie." Macey lead the little girl to the couch and sat her down.

"I want mommy, where's mommy?" Evie started crying, which caused Macey to become tense.

"Your mommy can't be here right now, she's hurt. But we're going to try and get help for her okay?" Preston looked at Evie, who was still crying.

"Can you help my mommy?" Evie said, looking at Macey.

"I can try, will you be okay up here?"

Evie nodded.

"You'll be okay with her?" Macey asked Preston.

"Yeah, i'll be fine. Go save people" He smiled.

"You stay up here and you don't let anybody in unless it's me okay? Don't answer the phone and keep Evie away from the window. You cannot let anybody see her, or you for that matter." Macey instructed, as she walked out.

She ran down the stairs again and went straight back outside over to where the woman was. Except she wasn't there anymore. The ambulance crew were just closing their door when Macey ran over to them.

"Hey, hey there was a woman here, brown hair, brown eyes. She had 3 bullet wounds and..."

"Are you a relative?"

"A friend." Macey lied smoothly.

"I'm afraid she was dead when we arrived, sorry."

Macey stood there for a moment, wondering what she should do next. She had a 4 year old girl in her apartment, who was the target of a potential threat to national security and the girl's mother had just died. She looked around for somebody to tell her what to do. She had never gotten into such a difficult situation. She could just take the girl to an adoption agency, but this wasn't just any girl. She was important, special. Who would know what to do? And then she knew.

_Abby._

Macey pulled her cell phone out of her pocket and dialled the number. She picked up immediately.

"Macey McHenry! Not that i'm not happy to hear from you but why the hell are you calling me?"

"I have a situation. And you know I wouldn't call you unless it was really important."

"What's up?"

"Where are you right now?"

"Boston, why? What's wrong Macey?"

"There's been a shooting, in DC. I was in my apartment and we heard a gunshot so I went out to help and a woman was on the ground, I found her daughter, who's like 4, and lead her to one side. She told me to go help her mother but when I did, the girl's mother just told me to get her daughter out of there because 'i couldn't let them get her'. Now the woman's dead and her 4 year old daughter is up in my apartment..."

"Alone?"

"Unfortunately not. Preston's with her."

"I'm not even going to ask what that boy is doing in your apartment. Because i do not want to know."

"Abby, what do I do with the girl?"

"Can't you take her to an adoption agency?"

"Target of a national security threat? Really? That would be like taking 6 year old Cammie there."  
"Ugh, stop being so smart."  
"I learned from the best."

"How long can you and Preston look after her?"

"Why?"

"Because it'll take me at least 2 hours to get to DC."  
"Well i'll see you in 2 hours then" Macey ended the call and ran back inside.

She knocked on the door to her apartment again and Preston opened the door.

"Hey, did you manage to...?"

Macey shook her head "She was dead on arrival. There was nothing i could do. Where's Evie?"

"Asleep."

"Woah, when did you get so good with kids?"

"We used to foster kids when i was younger. Anyway, what are we gonna do about the whole Evie situation?"

"I freaked out and called Abby."  
"Wait, Abby's coming here?"

"Yeah, why?"

"You're like her little minion and she's protective of you and i've pissed you off and she's bound to know and... Is Abigail Cameron going to kill me?"

"Maybe. I don't know. And if you EVER call me somebody's 'minion' again I will make it my personal mission to kick your ass so hard that you run crying to your mommy like a little kid."

"Okayyy, message received loud and clear. Wouldn't want to get my ass kicked by Macey McHenry, would I?"

Macey slapped him lightly, but then laughed.

"See, this is progress" Preston said, smiling.

"Yeah, yeah i suppose."  
"And progress is good."  
"Yeah." Macey smiled and walked over to the window.

"Can i tell you something?" Preston asked.

"Sure."

"What made you want to do this? Secret Service, i mean."

"Honestly? Abby. As much as she was a pain in the ass at times, she took a bullet for me. And even when i first met her, i knew that she would if it came to it. And when it did come to it, she saved my life. There's a level of respect that you reach when you save somebody's life. And after all that, i knew that if i could, i wanted to do the same thing that Abby had done for me that night. I wanted to save somebody, and help them the way that she helped me."

"I really respect that, you know. How you can even think about putting yourself in front of a gun for somebody that you aren't even that close to. I don't know, i just don't think i could do it myself."

"See, that's why you'll make such a good politician."  
"Why?"

"You're selfish. It's not a bad thing, it'll save your life more often than you realise. And i was the same, until there was a bullet heading for me and someone jumped in front of it."

"See maybe that's the problem, nobody wants to kill me."  
"Not at the moment, i'm not saying anything about the past." Macey laughed.

"I couldn't have done what you did today, when you ran outside and immediately knew that you wanted to save people"

"It wasn't a matter of wanting to. I knew i had to. It's instinct now, i do what i have to in order to save everybody."  
"I'm really not joking when i say that that is one of the most admirable things i've ever heard somebody say."  
Macey laughed slightly. "Well thank you." She smiled and walked over to the couch and sat down.

"Have you got any events or anything tonight?" Preston asked Macey as he sat down opposite her.

"No, not that i'm aware of. I'm never surprised anymore when my mother turns up on my doorstep with a dress over her arm though, so i don't presume. What about you?"

"Nothing tonight." he smiled.

"So, where exactly are you living at the moment?"

"I have an apartment on Pennsylvania Avenue."

"Of course you do" Macey laughed, rolling her eyes.

"How long have you been living here?"

"i've had the apartment for 3 years. But i spent 2 years beforehand hiding in Vermont."  
"I spent a year there." Preston laughed, sounding a little shocked.

"When?"

"After i left." he said, looking down as he finished his sentence.

"Oh how funny, that's when i first went there."

"Why Vermont?"

"I was looking for a place to buy, as a getaway place. And i found a cabin, it reminded me a little bit of Mr Solomon's cabin. You know, where i went after the incident in Boston. So i bought it."

"You still have it?"

"Yeah, i'll have to show you sometime. You'd like it." she smiled.

"What time do you want me to go?" Preston asked, looking at the clock.

"Well, it's 2 o'clock now, but Abby should be here in an hour or so. You'll be free to leave when she gets here, but she said that we should both stay and look after Evie."

"No, that's fair enough."

"You don't have to stay though."  
"It's fine Mace, it's not like i have anything to get home to, is it?"

"It's not like i would know. I mean, after Melissa..."  
"Nothing happened."  
"Not that it's any of my business.."

"It was a publicity thing. My mom's been on my case for the last six months about how i need to start having a serious relationship with someone because the whole country thinks i'm either sad and lonely or gay."

"Are you?"

"Seriously? Have the past two days not answered your question?"

"Point taken. That's another thing, how exactly are we going to explain getting back together?"

" Erm, we decided to give things another try. After me being an idiot. Damn, Mace we'll tell them the truth. I screwed up, i realised that, now i want to fix things."

Macey smiled and nodded. "I'm gonna go check on Evie." She got up off of the couch and walked into her room. Evie was just starting to wake up as she got in there.

"Mommy?"

"No honey, it's me, Macey."

"Where's my mommy?"

"Your mom's gone away for a while, we don't know when she'll be back. But here, she gave me this to give to you." Macey held out the locket that the woman had given to her, showing it to the little girl. She put it around Evie's neck and closed the clasp.

"Am i staying with you now, until mommy comes back?"

"I don't know, but somebody I know is coming to see if she can help. She'll be here in a few hours, but you can stay here for as long as you need." Macey said, trying to be comforting. Evie smiled, nodded and rested her head on Macey's leg. Macey sat back on the bed and wrapped her arm around Evie. She wanted to try and keep things at a relatively normal level for Evie, despite everything that had gone on that day. And most of all, Macey wanted to offer comfort to Evie, the kind of comfort that Macey had craved for the majority of her childhood but which she had never received. If she couldn't help herself, and she couldn't help her child, then she would make it her job to help this little girl who, just like Macey had, was trying to grow up in a world with too many problems.

* * *

**A/N: So here we have the introduction of some weird little child. Lovely. ****She's not in it for long, I know that much. **

**Sorry for any mistakes, half finished sentences or stupid grammatical errors (that you are more than welcome to correct me on..) because it's 11 O'Clock at night and i've already tried to read through this chapter twice. It's not working out.**


	6. Chapter 6

**A/N: It's only been like, 3 weeks. You can't kill me. And y****ou're all probably gonna hate this chapter so here goes nothing. Sorry for any spelling/grammar mistakes.**

**DISCLAIMER: Messed up storyline, all mine. Messed up new characters, also all mine. Gallagher Girls series, not mine, sadly. All rights go to Ally Carter.**

* * *

Macey hadn't quite realised how long she'd been sitting there until Preston came in and woke her up. She had fallen into a deep sleep, as had Evie who was currently snoring loudly whilst resting on Macey's leg.

"Hey, i was just checking to see if you two were okay, you've been in here nearly an hour you know" He whispered, standing in the doorway.

"Really? Sorry, I didn't mean to.." Macey rubbed her eyes as they adjusted to the light again.

"No, it's okay. Don't apologise." He came and sat in the chair by her bed. "You would've been a great mom, you know that"

Macey smiled but a tear graced the corner of her right eye. "That means a lot, thank you." She replied and Preston rested his hand on top of hers.

"I'm still really sorry about the fact that you had to go through all of that by yourself." he said.

"No, it's okay. I probably should've contacted you. I just didn't know what to say."  
"I understand. You don't need to explain."

"See? Progress." Macey smiled. She gently lifted Evie's head off of her lap and got up off of the bed without waking her. Macey walked out into the front room and Preston followed.

"She asked if she could stay here. I mean, I don't really want Abby to take her but she's not safe here, right?" Macey said, speaking normally as she closed the door that connected to her room.

"I've literally never seen you so attached to a little kid. I mean, before you practically cried if a child came near you."

"That was before i realised how much i wanted one of my own." Macey smiled slightly and looked down at the floor. Preston saw that she was upset and pulled her into a hug but it was cut short but a firm and rather loud knock at the door.

"It must be Abby." Macey said, pulling back from the hug. She shut the door to the bedroom where Evie was asleep, in case it wasn't Abby but surely enough, when Macey opened the front door her former teacher, bodyguard and best friend's aunt stood in front of her.

"You look absolutely exhausted" Abby said bluntly.

"Nice to see you too Abby" Macey smiled, inviting her in and shutting the door behind her.

"Oh and _you're_ still here..." Abby said bitterly, glancing at Preston who was standing by the couch.

"Calm, Abby. We're on better terms than before." Macey said in an attempt to prevent an argument breaking out between the three of them, which had happened frequently in the past.

"What, when he walked out and left you to deal with a pregnancy on your own?" It was meant to come out as a whisper however Preston was still able to hear Abby's comment.

"I told you, she wants to kill me" Preston added.

"Damn right she does." Abby responded.

"Stop. It. Can we focus on the actual problem at hand please? There is a tired, worried, adorably cute 4 year old girl in my room and none of us have any idea who she is or what we should do with her."

"Maceeyyyyy" they heard a voice call from her bedroom. Macey went straight into her room where Evie was sat up on her bed.

"Is your friend here now Macey?" Evie asked.

"Yeah sweetie, come on." Macey picked Evie up and carried her through to the front room on her hip and set her down on the couch gently.

"Abby, this is Evie. Evie, this is Abby" Macey said, introducing the two of them to each other.

"I'll sit with her for a minute, you two need to work out where we go from here." Preston said, sitting down next to Evie on the couch where she cuddled up to him like they had known each other their whole lives. Macey and Abby walked out into the kitchen, where Macey made 3 cups of coffee and poured some juice into a cup for Evie. She handed a cup of coffee to Abby, passed one to Preston and left one for herself.

"So, what happens now?" Macey asked, sitting at the table.

"We could go to the director, but i think that may be too big a step." Abby said, sitting opposite Macey.

"Could you run her fingerprints through the database then?"

"Macey, she's 4 years old. I doubt that she'll be registered."

"Isn't it worth a try?"

"I suppose it is. We don't have anything else we can do other than hand her into the adoption agency."

"We can't Abby. I can't do that to her."  
"Macey, I get it. You lost your baby and now you feel as though you have to do everything you can to help every other child on the planet. But you're not superwoman. You can't save everybody all the time. And I can't begin to imagine what you're going through but you're not alone."

"I just...I feel like losing my baby was my fault and..." Macey trailed off, looking away.

"Hey! It was not your fault. It was nobody's fault. And you can't try and fix every broken life as a substitute for not being able to fix your own. It's okay Macey. This girl, we can find her a new home. Nobody's looking for her. You know what people are like, if they wanted this girl that badly, they would've gotten hold of her now."

"Took them a while to get Cammie." She put her cup down on the table.

"That was the Circle. This cannot be on the scale that the Circle was. Whoever they are, whatever they are, they're nothing. A tiny blip on a map."

"If we let her back into the world and she dies, it's on my head."

"No, no it's not"

"Not yet. But it will be. Because I wouldn't have done everything in my power to protect a citizen of this country. And therefore I wouldn't be doing my job, would I? So we run the tests, we find out who she is and if she's not a target of somebody trying to blown up this country, then and only then will we let her be taken by some random American family with their generic ways and their white picket fence. Okay?"

Abby smiled."And there she is, that's the Macey McHenry I know. And god, did I train you well."

"Oh well now you're just being egotistical." Macey said jokingly.

"Me? No, never!" Abby said sarcastically causing Macey to laugh.

A second later, Preston walked into the kitchen and stood next to the table where Macey and Abby were sitting. "She's asleep again." He said.

"Well this should be easy enough. Liz gave me this fingerprint scanning device that scans the print, and then you can connect it to a laptop and run it through the database really quickly. It's just a prototype but it works." Abby said, taking the device out of her bag. They walked over to the couch where Evie was asleep and Macey gently lifted her hand, being careful not to wake her. She place the girl's finger onto the device which read her print within second. Macey lifted Evie's hand off of the device and placed it back down at her side. They walked over to the kitchen table, leaving Evie to sleep. Abby pulled her laptop out of her bag and attached the device to it.

"Running it through the database now." Abby said. Macey sat at the table anxiously, waiting for some kind of result.

"Okay then." Abby exclaimed, causing Macey to jump up and look at the screen. It read:

_**MATCH FOUND: EVELYN ALEXANDRA VICTORIA VALENTINA-ANGELO, PRINCESS OF GRANDONIA. **_

"I have never even heard of that country." Preston commented, looking at the screen. "Is it even real?"

"She's a freaking princess of a country off of the coast of Italy. Abby this is just like the Amirah situation all over again." Macey said, completely ignoring Preston's comment.

"Yeah, except we're not about to stop World War 3 and in case you didn't realise, this princess is four years old." she said sarcastically.

"There is too much sarcasm in this place..." Preston added.  
"Nobody said you had to stay." Abby retorted bitterly.

"So what are we going to do?" Macey asked.

"Well, it says that she's here because she lives, sorry, lived with her mother. Her parents were divorced, her dad is the King of Grandonia and basically the only choice we have is to send her back."

"So, we send her back then." Preston said, still trying to get into the conversation.

"It's not that simple though, if people are after her..."

"Then it is the responsibility of her own country, you know the one that she's princess of, who have their own services for the protection of their royal family. So they don't need US Secret Service agents running around after her, okay? We'll get her back to her own country by tomorrow." Abby said.

"She's right Mace, you can't protect Evie forever."  
"No, i know that, but sending her to a country she probably doesn't even know isn't the best idea, is it?"

"Macey..."

"Look i know what it's like, to be thrown straight into the middle of a commotion that i had no say in whether i wanted to be part of or not. And to be surrounded by bodyguards and agents and god knows what else for a huge part of my life. It's not fun and it's sure as hell not easy. Think of what she'll feel like, especially after her mom just died. She is four years old for god's sake."

"We have no other choice, we have to send her back. I am older than you and way higher up in the field, so you listen to me and you follow whatever orders i say. First thing tomorrow morning, we are going to the airport and getting on a plane to Grandonia and taking that girl back to her own country? Do you understand?"

Abby was angry, and angry Abby was not to be messed with. Macey realised this and just nodded.

"Good. Now i'll be here at 8am tomorrow. Preston, if you're coming with us then you better be here too, however i doubt you'll leave." Abby said, getting up and walking to the door. "And i don't expect arguments tomorrow, at all. You go by my rules. Got it?"

Macey and Preston nodded simultaneously. "I'll see you out" Macey said, getting up and walking towards the door.

"Sorry, if i was harsh but it really wasn't getting through to you."

"I know, i was being difficult."  
"No, i get it. You learn to not get personally involved after a while. And if you need any help tonight, with Evie. Then call me, i'm staying at a hotel a few streets away so i'll come straight here if you need me. Okay?"

"Thanks Abby, i really appreciate it."  
"No problem. I still feel the need to look out for you, even though it's not officially my job anymore." Abby said, walking out.

"I'll see you tomorrow"

"Bye Macey" Abby smiled, walking away as Macey shut the door.

Macey walked back into the front room, where Preston was covering Evie with a blanket. She sat down in silence, not even bothering to acknowledge Preston. She looked over at Evie. She couldn't do it. How was she supposed to just dump this little girl in the middle of a country that she didn't even know existed with a family that she didn't even know? It wasn't fair. Macey took one last glance at the sleeping child, closed her eyes and tried not to remember what it felt like for her, when she was thrust into a world that she didn't choose to be part of.

* * *

**A/N: Hope this isn't too terrible, because I think that this chapter is dreadful but oh well. **

**Sorry for not updating for like 3 weeks, there's been a LOT of stuff that i've had to do and updating FanFiction really was not one of my priorities.**

**Hopefully, i'll update soon.**

**Thank you for reading :) x**


	7. Chapter 7

**So I may have left it nearly a month again. Oops... **

**This chapter is just to fill a space, so it's boring and i hate it and i would say enjoy it but you won't.**

**DISCLAIMER: I don't own the Gallagher Girls series, or it's characters however I do own this pathetic excuse for a fanfiction. Everything else all belongs to Ally Carter.**

* * *

Macey opened her eyes again around 5 minutes after she had closed them. Preston was sitting opposite her, and he smiled slightly as she looked up.

"You know, you're not the only one who had to put up with endless amounts of weird bodyguards and agents and stuff. I had to do the exact same thing." He spoke quietly, in order not to wake Evie.

"Yeah, I know. And i'm sorry, but I forget sometimes because you dealt with it all so much better than I did. I may have been a little over dramatic at times..."

"Oh you can say that again." he laughed a little.

"Ugh, i just don't want a little kid to have to go through what we did, in a foreign country with people who she's probably never even met."  
"And having to live with the parent that does not understand you at all because the other one is dead, yeah that sucks too."

"Preston..." Macey trailed off, she never knew exactly what to say when Preston started talking about his father. Mostly because it happened so rarely.

"No it's okay. I'm just saying... I understand where you're coming from, but we've gotta do what Abby says."  
"I know." She smiled, walking into the kitchen at standing by the worktop."You're okay to go now, if you want."

"I don't have to, like I said there's nothing that i'm going home to."

"So you're saying that you'd rather spend your evening here with me than sitting in the comfort of your Penthouse on Pennsylvania Avenue with Netflix and popcorn and whatever other crappy junk food you can find?"

"Have you been spying on me McHenry?"

"Nope, you're just extremely predictable." she laughed.

"Hmmm okay then, and yes, that is exactly what i'm saying" Preston smiled, stepped forward and wrapped his arms around Macey's waist. Pulling her into an unexpected hug. She buried her head into his neck.

"So am I allowed to stay?" He asked.

"You know you are." she pulled back from the hug and smiled. "I have a feeling Evie won't wake up again, it's half 6."

"Are we just leaving her on the couch?"

"I don't wanna move her, you know, in case she wakes up."

"Right, fair point."

"So, I have a question." Macey stated, sitting down at the kitchen table.

"Go on" Preston said, sitting opposite her.

"What are your plans for Christmas?"

"Netflix and popcorn" he laughed.

"Seriously?"

"Yes, seriously. My mother's with her friends, probably drinking more wine that I care to think about and I didn't realise that we'd actually be talking therefore that rules out spending time with any of the others. So I planned to sit at home watching crappy movies and eating a ton of popcorn."

"I swear, you have the mentality of a twelve year old boy. And I knew you when you were twelve."  
"Well what were your plans for Christmas, Miss 'uptight and sophisticated since birth'?"

"Either spend it with my parents or with Cammie, Zach and the others."

"Netflix and popcorn sounds more fun." Preston laughed.

"When was the last time you had an actual proper christmas with an actual christmas dinner and presents and stuff?"

"Erm... 5 years ago."

"Right, it's settled. You're spending Christmas with me. Wherever i go for Christmas, you're coming with." Macey stated plainly.

"Well i severely hope you're going to be with Cammie, Zach and the others because you're parents really aren't my biggest fans."

"Good point. I'll call Cam, one minute." Macey grabbed her cell phone from her pocket and dialed Cammie's number, for the third time in two days.

"Macey McHenry, i'm starting to think that the apocalypse is looming because this is the third time you've called me in less than 48 hours."  
"Yeah yeah, enjoy it while it lasts Chameleon."

"Haha, what is it this time?"

"What are your plans for Christmas?"

"Oh, I was meant to ask you the same thing. Mom and Joe called the other day, how would you feel about going back to Gallagher for Christmas? All of us."

"That'd be awesome, just one question."

"Yeah?"

"Can i bring a plus one?"

"I doubt that it'll be a problem. Are we aware of who it is?"  
"Ha, you'll have to wait and see."

"Well it'll be nice to see you with someone for the first time in five years. It's good that you're moving past it all Macey."

She laughed slightly. "Thanks Cam, so i'll see you in..."

"It's five days until Christmas, Macey"

"Holy crap, okay! See you then."

"Haha, bye."

Macey set her phone down on the table and looked back up at Preston.

"So?"

"We're going to Gallagher for Christmas."

"Great, a mansion full of people who hate my guts. This is why nobody ever lets you make plans."

"Hey, come on, it'll be fine."

"See, now thanks to you. I have to actually go out and buy presents for people."

"I'm expecting a very good present you know."

"It's 5 days until Christmas."

"Well done Einstein."

"I'll take that as a challenge then."  
"Hmm well I do have very high standards."  
"Don't I know it" Preston laughed.

"I like this, us getting along again." Macey smiled.

"I missed you Mace, and i know that it's my fault but, still. I missed you." Preston said.

"I think we should just put it behind us now, start again. Agreed?"

"Agreed." Preston nodded.

"And we won't say anything to anyone until Christmas day, right?"

"Well Abby kind of already knows."

"Yeah but she won't say anything."

"True. Aren't you worried about them though, and what they'll say?"

"I've spent too much of my life worrying what the people around me think. It's stopped me from doing so much, but I don't care anymore. I've loved you for too long to let anyone get in the way of that. So we'll keep our chins up, hold our heads high and rise above their crap. Okay?"

"Sounds like a good plan."  
"Well of course it is, I came up with it. Which is why people _should_ let me make the plans." Macey smiled. "Are you like, hungry or anything? Because i'm really bad when it comes to having visitors."

"Macey, i'm always hungry"

"Right, yep, mentality of a twelve year old." Macey got up and started looking through the kitchen cupboards, Preston went over to the fridge.

"How much wine do you need?" Preston asked, staring at the five and a half bottles of red wine in the fridge.

"Well I was told I drink too much coffee." Macey shrugged, throwing a pack of Doritos onto the counter. She pulled a bag of popcorn and two glasses out of the cupboard. "Get one of the bottles out, please?" she asked Preston who grabbed a bottle of the obviously expensive wine and placed it on the table.

Macey got the glasses, the Doritos and the popcorn and placed it on the table. Preston just stared at her for a minute.

"What?" She asked.

"You're telling me you eat this crap for dinner all the time and you still look like a freaking supermodel?"

"Now you sound like a twelve year old _girl_. And I don't eat this all the time thank you very much. And it's not always popcorn."

"Well it should be because popcorn is the best thing ever."

"Twelve year old" Macey laughed to herself.

"It's kinda all you've got so.."

"Well can you blame me? I'm not used to having people stay you know. Best friends constantly travelling with work, family who basically couldn't give a crap, and then there's you. You're like, the last person i've lived with so.."  
"What happened to the apartment?" Preston asked, changing the topic of conversation yet again.

"It's still where it was, I haven't been back though. I kinda got my stuff and left for Vermont"  
"Everything's as it was?"

"Well, not exactly. When you left, I blamed myself. I had a bit of a breakdown and I trashed the place. It took a week for anybody to realise that I wasn't in the best of places. Liz found me, she came round to check up on me because she hadn't heard from me for a while. When she walked in, I was passed out in amongst the remains of a smashed vase and torn up photos with a bottle of tequila in my hand. She called Cammie and Bex and they tried to get me to clean up but I grabbed my stuff and left. Everything should be how I left it." Macey said, looking down.

"It wasn't your fault, you know. And i know that I made a shitty mistake and.."  
"We said it's in the past, okay?"

"Yeah, but Mace?"

"Yeah?"

"I wanna see it, the apartment."

"We're not going back."

"Macey, I want to go back. I need to go back."

"But Preston..."  
"You need to go back too, you just won't admit it."

Macey sighed, knowing that he was right.

"Fine, but we can't go tonight because we've got Evie and we can't go tomorrow because we're going to her weirdly isolated country and the flight is 13 hours, which means we should be there at 10pm, which means we'll have to stay the night. Then we leave at 11pm the following night, so we get back here at 1pm on the 23rd. Then we need to leave DC by 12pm on Christmas Eve so we get to Gallagher for about 4pm."

"We can always get Abby to watch Evie."

"We're not leaving Evie, even if it is with Abby, whom I am not disturbing again."

"So, we go when we get back from Grandonia."

"Two 13 hour flights in the space of two days? Two words, jet lag."

"Point taken, we'll go when we get back from Gallagher."

"Erm. No?"

"Then call Abby"

"I'm not calling Abby." She retorted in the same tone.

"Why not?"

"Because we, at the age of twenty five, are sitting in my kitchen eating Doritos and popcorn washed down with red wine."

"And? Will Abby care? No. So call her or i'll do it myself." Preston said and Macey glared at him. They sat in what can only be described as a staring contest for at least five minutes, neither of them wanting to admit defeat. And then there was a knock at the door.

* * *

**I don't like the ending but i couldn't end it dramatically.**

**Sorry for any spelling/grammar mistakes because I've proof read it 4 times but chances are there are still mistakes.**

**Thanks for reading :) x**


	8. Chapter 8

**Please try not to fall over because yes this is indeed the second update in the space of a weekend.**

**Things are getting extremely boring in the world of my fanfiction, am i right? _Of course I am..._**

**So basically after this chapter, stuff starts to get more messed up and weird and you get the idea.**

**But lets crack on with this piece of crap because without these horrifying chapters, I can't get to where I want/need to be. **

* * *

It took a further two minutes for Macey to give in. So she got up and opened the door to find none other than Abby standing in front of her.

"I got the feeling that you needed me." Abby stated.

"This may be one of the few times that the telepathic weirdness between you two has actually come in handy" Preston said, as Abby walked in and Macey shut the door behind her.

"It's not telepathy" Macey and Abby snapped simultaneously, causing Preston to laugh.

"However, it is extremely weird." Abby smiled, sitting down at the table. "So, what exactly is it you two need help with? Oh and take note,surprisingly, i'm not a qualified therapist."

"Could you possibly look after Evie for a few hours?" Macey asked.

"Yeah sure. But if you don't mind me asking, why?"

"This one wants to go to the old apartment, you know, the one that i trashed during the famous 'McHenry Meltdown' post breakup?"

"Right, well have fun with that." Abby said, pulling her phone out of her pocket and reading something off of her screen.

Preston got up and went to grab his coat, leaving Abby and Macey alone for a second.

"You alright?" Abby said, looking at Macey, who just nodded. "Wrong answer, try again."

"Honestly Abby, i'm okay. Just a tough day, that's all."  
"It'll get better, I promise. And i've said that to you before, and it has."

"I know" Macey said as Preston came to her side.

"You ready?" He said and Macey nodded.

"I'll see you later, take your time." Abby called out as they were leaving.

"Bye Abby" They replied.

"Oh and Macey?"

"Yeah?"

"Try not to kill him." Abby said, laughing a little as they closed the door.

They walked downstairs and got into Macey's car in silence. In fact, all the way to the apartment block, they remained silent. Macey's eyes were constantly fixated on the road and Preston's eyes on her. Neither of them spoke. When they got to the apartment block, Macey couldn't help but feel a slight sense of deja vu which didn't actually leave her until they were standing outside the front door to their old penthouse apartment.

"Ready?" Macey asked, turning the key in the lock.

"Yeah, you?" he responded.

"No." She pushed the door open and walked in.

It was exactly as she had left it. Coloured pieces of glass covered the floor, along with feathers from pillows, torn photographs and other pieces of paper. Dust had settled thickly over the surfaces where nothing had been touched for half a decade and the blinds were still tightly shut. Macey and Preston just stood there, taking the scene in. Macey had to rest against the wall to stop herself from falling but she ended up sitting on the wooden floor anyway. She dropped her bag and tucked her knees in towards her stomach, resting her head on them and burying her face away. Preston stayed standing. He walked carefully into what used to be the bedroom that they shared. The bed was made, as perfectly as ever, and the blinds were open. He walked back into where Macey was and sat down next to her. He wrapped his arm around her and pulled her in close towards him.

"It's okay Macey. It's all okay." He comforted and she lifted her head up.

"I'm sorry, it's just..."

"Painful? Yeah, i know. I hate thinking that i left you here and that you were here by yourself for a week and..."

"I had the tequila, tequila was my 's honestly okay. I don't remember much of it."  
"You called me." He said quietly, but she heard it.

"What?"

"You called me, about a week after i left. You were so drunk it was unbelievable. I didn't pick up, because of obvious reasons but you left a voicemail. You were crying and rambling and i don't know why i didn't call you back but i didn't and..."

"What did I say? On the voicemail." Macey asked him, and Preston pulled his phone out of his pocket and scrolled through it until he came to what he was looking for.

"I couldn't delete it at first, and then I forgot about it." He said, pressing play.

Macey heard the sound of her own voice: "_Preston? I knew you wouldn't pick up. It's alright though because its not like we need to talk. Because it's perfectly acceptable for you to just walk out and leave me with no explanation and i mean honestly do you just not think? Of course you don't, you're a guy, you think with your dick and not your brain. I basically just called to say that I hate you but I don't hate you and I can't hate you and I really just hate myself so I really don't know why I'm calling and i'm glad you didn't pick up." _And then the message ended.

Macey sat there, staring at Preston. "I'm so sorry, I should've come back or..." He started but Macey interrupted.

"It's okay Preston. What's done is done. We've got to put this behind us now, okay?"

"Yeah." He nodded.

"What are we gonna do with this place?" Macey said, changing the subject.

"We could sell it. Obviously we'd have to clean everything up but other than that it's in a good condition."  
"You wanna sell it?" She asked.

"I think we should. Neither of us need it."

"Neither of us need the money though."

"Well we can keep it if you want."

"No. No we should sell it. We can get it cleaned, after the new year. And then we'll sell it."

"Okay then."

"Is there anything you wanted to get or did you wanna go now?"

"No, it's okay. We can go." Preston said, getting up off of the floor and helping Macey up. Just as they turned to walk out, Macey stopped.

"Wait." She said, walking back over to the fireplace. She picked up a photo frame that was lying faced down, turned it over and brushed the dust and glass off of it. The picture was of herself and Preston in Sydney on New Years Eve, 7 years ago.

"That's still one of my favourite pictures." Preston said, looking over Macey's shoulder.

She smiled. "I couldn't bring myself to smash it up. The rest of them were torn and shredded but this one... I couldn't do it. It's one of my happiest memories. That was honestly the best New Year's Eve i've ever had."

"Yeah, me too. Come on it's getting late."  
"What time is it?"

"Nearly half past nine."

"We've been here for two hours?"

"Seems like it." Preston said, walking towards the door.

"I hope Evie hasn't woken up." Macey said, putting the photograph in her bag, walking out and locking the door behind them.

"She should be fine. I doubt she'd have woken up after the day she's had."

"Yeah, yeah i suppose so."

They walked out to the car, once again in silence. But this time, the silence was comfortable. As if both of them had mentally matured in two hours. Because they had finally realised the impact that Preston's actions had had on both of them, and they had closure. Macey now knew how and why their relationship had ended. What had gone wrong and what caused it all. And she was determined not to repeat the mistakes of the past. This time, they would get it right.

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**If ever there was a paragraph that I like, it would be the last one in this chapter.**

**Basically, I hate to be the ranty, whining pathetic excuse for an author that rambles on about how they can't/won't carry on without reviews because I WILL carry on, but it would be nice if I got a couple more reviews because I'm running out of ideas of where to take this story and reviews help me make up my mind. **

**So i don't need tons of reviews at once from every single reader, but a few more would be nice.**

**Thank you for reading, and sorry that it's so crap. :) x**


	9. Chapter 9

**Don't even ask me why i'm updating again okay I just feel super organised and I honestly have nothing better to do.**

**I'm totally writing this for my own sake now.**

**DISCLAIMER: I don't own this series, Ally Carter does, blah blah blah you get the point.**

* * *

When Macey walked back into her apartment,Abby was sitting in the exact same position that she had been in when they left.

"Everything alright with you two now?" Abby asked, looking up from her phone screen.

"I think so. I dropped Preston off at his place so he could pack some stuff for the trip, i'll pick him up in about 15 minutes."

"Did you want me to stay with Evie while you go and get him?"

"Are you sure? It's getting late and.."

"I wouldn't have offered if I wasn't sure."

"Thank you." Macey said, putting her coat on the back of the chair and sitting down opposite Abby. She placed the photograph of herself and Preston on the table and stared at it.

"That's a nice picture" Abby said, putting her phone in her pocket and looking at the photograph.

"New years, 7 years ago."  
"You look happy."

"I was."

"You're not now?" Abby gave her a concerned look.

"I don't know, it's all happening very fast again and we're going back to Gallagher for Christmas and i'm worried about what they're gonna say and..."

"You? Worried about what people think of you? When has that ever been a problem? You're Macey McHenry, senator's daughter, America's Sweetheart, etcetera."

"I know but..."

"No. Repeat after me 'I am Macey McHenry and I don't give a crap'"

"Abby I'm not doing that." Macey said, but Abby glared at her and Macey figured there was no point in arguing with her."I am Macey McHenry and I don't give a crap." Macey repeated, laughing.

"There. Look, Preston adores you. He worships the ground upon which you walk and you're questioning that? He's quite clearly loved you from the second he laid eyes on you. It was so obvious on the campaign train that it physically pained me to watch you ignore him as he tried to impress you."

"He has not loved me since the campaign, it was well after that."  
"You may have seen it as him being repetitively annoying but everyone else saw it for what it was."  
"If you say so.."  
"I do say so. I said it then, and i'm saying it now. Your problem is that there's a part of you, deep down, that knows that this is right but you won't let yourself believe it because you're scared. So stop being scared."  
Macey just nodded as she always did when she knew that Abby was right, and she'd never admit it to her face but Abby was normally right.

"You should go and get Preston. The poor boy will be thinking that you've forgotten about him."

"I think i've told you before that that is a virtually impossible thing for me to do." Macey said, putting on her coat,grabbing her keys and walking out the door.

The car journey to Preston's apartment was ridiculously short as she lived 10 minutes away from him. When she reached his apartment block on Pennsylvania Avenue, she pulled up outside, grabbed her phone and called him.

"Hey, i'm outside"

"Oh, right okay. I'll be out in a minute, i've still gotta get some stuff. Where are you parked?"

"Out the front. It's cool, i'll come up.  
"No, Mace.."

She ended the call before he could finish his sentence. The second that Macey stepped out of the car, she was greeted by flashes from multiple cameras. Paparazzi swarmed her like bees as she made her way to the front door of the apartment block. Luckily, the door had just been opened and she managed to get in without being attacked.

She panted heavily as she entered the elevator that took her up to the very top floor of the building. The elevator climbed the levels at warp speed and within what seemed like 10 seconds, Macey stepped out of the metal doors and walked up to Preston's front door. She knocked on the door rapidly and waited for an answer.

Preston opened the door immediately and sighed at the sight of a rather flustered Macey.

" I did try to warn you, but you cut me off."

"Point taken." Macey said, walking into Preston's apartment and throwing herself onto the couch. "Why are they even here?" she asked.

"They've been here since you dropped me off. The second you drove away I got mobbed. And you clearly haven't seen the local papers today." Preston said, throwing a newspaper at her.

The headline, accompanied by a picture from the charity fundraiser, read:

_**Winters McHenry: Putting relationships back on track?**_

"Damn it." Macey cursed under her breath.

"It's extremely creative, i'll give them that."  
"It sounds like something Cammie would come up with." Macey said, rolling her eyes. "These papers are only local, right?"

"For today, I guarantee that we'll be world news by tomorrow. But we'll be on a plane so it won't really matter I suppose."

"How the hell are we supposed to get to an airport without being seen, bearing in mind that we're gonna have a 4 year old child with us?"

"We'll sort it out Mace, just calm down."  
"Calm down? Really? We can't leave the building without being harassed and you're telling me to calm down. I didn't even think we decided to tell people yet but obviously we've got to now."

"No we don't, we'll just go straight out and get in the car, no eye contact, no talking. They can spread rumours all they want, it's not like it hasn't happened before."

"Fine." She sighed and got up off of the couch. Preston got his suitcase and they walked out the door and into the elevator. When the reached the main door, camera flashes began to appear through the doors.

"Ready?" Preston asked.

"Not in the slightest." Macey replied and walked straight out into the growing crowd of reporters. They fought their way through the sea of people and managed to get to Macey's car. Macey took the suitcase off of Preston, put it on the back seat and got in the driver's seat.

Preston, who was sitting in the passenger seat, looked over at Macey and said "Are you okay?"

"Yep, I'm surprised we're still alive and that we weren't torn to pieces but i'm fine. Let's go." She smiled and started driving back to her apartment.

"Preston?" Macey started, still concentrating on the road.

"Yeah?" he answered, drawing his attention away from the window and back to Macey.

"When did you first realise that you loved me?"

"You remember that day on the rooftop in Boston?"

"Yeah, how could I forget that?"

"Well it was then, when the helicopter first landed, and your immediate response was to fight. I watched you and knew that I loved you. See, before that I obviously found you attractive and knew that I liked you. But after that day, when you chose fight instead of flight, I knew that I wanted to spend the rest of my life with you."

"So basically, me kicking people's asses turns you on? I'll take note of that." She laughed as they pulled into the parking space outside of Macey's apartment block. Just as Preston was about to open the car door, Macey grabbed his arm.

"What? What is it?" He asked.

"Shh, quiet." Macey hushed.

"What's wrong?" Preston lowered his voice to a whisper.

"There are people in that bush." She said, gesturing to the bushes opposite the apartment block, on the other side of the parking lot.

"How'd you know?"

"Secret Service agent, who trained in Spy School from the age of 15. Does that answer your question or do you need me to draw a timeline to explain further?"

"Okay point taken. But is this really the time to be sassing me?"

Macey rolled her eyes. "Take my keys and go up to my apartment. Go inside, close the door and make sure all the windows are shut. Get Abby and go and sit in the bedroom with Evie. Do not let her wake up and if she does, keep her away from the window."

"What do I tell Abby? She's gonna ask questions, she always does."

"Tell her that the apartment has been being watched for a few hours. I don't know who they're after, and I don't know who they are. If she decides that she's coming outside, tell her to check the front entrance, I'm staying and covering the back."

"Right, okay. But, Mace?"

"Preston, I'll be fine."

"What if they've got guns?"

"Who says that I don't?"

"You carry a gun on you?"

"In my car, yes. Now go, we can't wait any longer." She handed the keys to Preston and he got out of the car. Macey sat there, silently praying to herself that Preston wasn't the one that they were after. She saw him open the front door and walk into the building. It was okay, he was inside. He was safe, hopefully.

* * *

**He's so not safe, he gonna die... I'm joking he's not.**

**It wasn't meant to end there but it makes more sense to start the next chapter dramatically so yeah. **

**Thank you for reading, again. For the third time this weekend. :) x**


	10. Chapter 10

**I was going to leave it a week but I really wanted to get this one up. Sorry for any spelling/grammar mistakes. Enjoy...**

* * *

Preston decided to take the stairs which he realised ,when he got half way up, was an extremely stupid idea. He ran up the last flight of stairs in such a hurry that he nearly lost his footing at least twice. When he got to the front door of Macey's apartment, he fumbled for the right key. It took him a few seconds to find it and open up the door but when he did, he went inside and immediately shut the door behind him.

Abby looked up and shot him a concerned glance.

"Where's Macey?" She asked but Preston just shook his head and put a finger to his lips signalling for Abby to be quiet. This only made her more confused and she got up from the table.

"Are all of the windows closed?" He asked her in a whisper, like she was supposed to know.

"I presume so, I haven't opened any. Preston, what the hell is going on? You're acting weird, and you don't do weird." she replied, in the same volume.

"Turn the light off." He instructed but Abby just stopped. "Abby, seriously, I can't tell you anything yet. Turn the lights off and go into the bedroom with Evie." Abby knew that something was extremely wrong now, and did exactly as Preston had said. After she had turned the lights off, she walked into the bedroom where Preston was sitting in the chair next to the bed where Evie was still fast asleep. She closed the bedroom door behind her and turned to face Preston.

"Now tell me, what the hell is going on? And where the hell is Macey?" she stood by the window.

"Macey is in her car. She said to tell you that the apartment block has been being watched for a couple hours. She's not sure who's watching or who they're after but she's keeping an eye on them."

"Does she need backup?"

"She didn't say, I don't know. She just said that if you were planning on going downstairs then you should go out of the front entrance, because she's covered the bac..." Preston's sentence was cut short by the sound of a gunshot. Evie jumped, stirred slightly but didn't wake.

"I've gotta go out there." Preston said, about to get up but Abby stopped him.

"If i'm staying here, so are you. She's fine. She's still in the car so sit down and shut up."

"If she's still in the car, why was there a shot?"

"They're telling her that they know she's there. Now shut up,I'm trying to watch."

Macey looked out of her mirror for the 5th time in the space of 20 seconds. The gunshot had startled her, and she knew that they, whoever they were, were now aware of her presence. She opened up a small compartment under the floor mat and pulled out an FN Five-Seven pistol. The waiting was killing her, she had to find out what they wanted. She was pretty sure that they were after Evie but this wasn't a time that she could just go with her instincts. She put the loaded gun on her lap and quickly pulled out her phone, dialling Preston's number.

"Macey? What's wrong? Do you need help?"

"I need you to listen to me, carefully and without freaking out. If you can't do that, put me onto Abby." She said, and Preston hesitated for a second and then passed the phone over to Abby.

"You need backup?" Abby asked, immediately assuming the worst.

"No, I'm handling it but I need you to listen and quickly because they're watching me."

"Tell me what you need."

"Get Evie out of the bed,pick her up and try not to wake her, but if you do just tell her she needs to pretend to be asleep. She's smart and she'll listen. Tell Preston that there's a suitcase in my closet, get him to grab it and go downstairs. Make sure you all take the stairs. If they've got control of the building then they'll shut the elevator down when you're inside and then you're screwed. Go out to your car, get in it and drive to the hotel where you're staying. Pick up your stuff and go straight to the airport. I'll meet you there as soon as I can. If you don't hear from me after 2 hours, get straight on my plane to Grandonia and assume that i'm dead. Save that girl's life Abby."

"Macey..."

"Save her life. It's what you do. You're good at it." Macey ended the call and put her phone into her pocket. She knew that she should wait a few minutes, until she saw the others coming down the stairs. Surely enough, after 2 minutes she saw the silhouettes of Preston, Abby and Evie descending the stairs and knew that it was safe for her to get out of the car. Macey grabbed the gun and put it in her back pocket. With hands that were trembling slightly, she opened the car door and stepped out into the parking lot.

"You might as well come out of the bushes, I know you're here as you know that I am. So you might as well show your faces." Macey shouted.

There was no answer. No movement. Nothing.

"Oh come on. Why so shy all of a sudden? I mean, a gunshot to announce your presence and then you go quiet on me. That's not how this works."

"Why don't you enlighten me on how this does work then, Ms McHenry?" A man said, stepping out from by the bushes and into her sight line.

"You tell me what you want, I tell you that you can't have it. You try and kill me, I win and you either leave or you die a slow and more than likely painful death."

"You seem to have done this too many times."

"Maybe so, But once more won't be too much of a strain on myself. So please, what is it that you want so badly that you'd stand in the middle of a parking lot at nearly 11 o'clock at night in the middle of December?"

"The Princess."

"What?"

"Princess Evelyn. We want her, need her in fact." Another man stepped out from behind the first man, he was shorter and thinner than the first man but he looked equally as creepy.

"Need her for what exactly?"

"Ransom. The king has things, money, power. And we want these things. We'll give him back his daughter, in return for what we want. And if he doesn't give us what we want then we won't give her back. And of course, we killed her mother so we really wouldn't mind killing her too." The second man explain

"Well I hate to tell you, but you're too late. I dropped her off at a care home just before I discovered that there were people hiding in my parking lot."

"You're lying, Ms McHenry." the first man replied. And just as he spoke, Macey heard footsteps approaching.

"EVIE GET BACK HERE." the shout had come from Abby who was following Evie across the parking lot.

"Macey!" Evie called, and ran towards her.

"No Evie, get back." Macey tried to stop her, but it was too late. The silver bullet was already flying towards the little girl at full speed.

Both Macey and Abby had the same thought when they had seen it. To put themselves between that little girl and the thing that was meant to kill her. But neither of them moved in time, and the tiny bullet had already gone straight through Evie's chest.

The shot had come from the taller man, who was standing there smiling. Abby rushed over to where Evie had fallen. Macey would have done the same, but now she was angry. She pulled her gun out, aimed and shot twice. One hit the first man directly in the forehead, the other hit the second man in the chest. Macey knew that they'd both be dead in minutes. Her shot was never off.

Macey put her gun down, and ran over to Evie who was lying flat on the ground in a pool of her own blood. Abby was sat beside her, holding her hand. Her skin was pale, almost white and her eyes were gradually closing.

"Evie come on, sweetie. Stay awake for me." Macey was clinging onto the only ounce of hope that she had left but it was no use.

There were no last words. Evie said nothing. The colour completely drained from her face and her tiny eyelids closed and remained shut. Macey looked up at Abby in a panic.

"Abby?"

But Abby just shook her head and Macey burst into tears. Abby got up from the ground but Macey just sat there with tears falling from her eyes as, once again, her emotions got the better of her.

"Macey, come on. There's nothing we can do now. We've gotta leave, we can't be caught out in this."

"We ARE this, don't you see Abby?"

"No, Macey you can't blame yourself for what happened here. It's not your fault."

"I can't just leave her."

"You have to, now you're the one that doesn't understand. Unless you want to spend the rest of your life behind bars in a bright orange jumpsuit you need to pick yourself up off the ground and we need to get the hell away from here." Abby said sternly and despite her hysterical crying Macey knew that she had to listen. So she got herself up, took one last look at Evie and ran to the car with Abby.

When they got there, Preston was sitting in the back of the car staring out of the window.

" Hey, what's happened? Where's Evie? " he asked, looking at Macey.

" She's dead." Macey said bluntly as she got into the passenger seat.

" What? So where are we going?"

" We need to leave. We can't be seen here. You two cannot be seen here." Abby replied,starting the car up.

"I get that but where can we go?" Preston asked again.

"Back to Gallagher?" Abby suggested.

"No. Not yet, we don't have to go for another few days." Macey spoke, her voice still shaking from shock. "Look, I'll go to a hotel, I'll go to Preston's place, hell I'll even stay with my parents but I am not going back to Gallagher yet. Not after this."

"Vermont." Preston stated plainly.

"What?" Abby asked, with a confused look on her face.

"I bought a cabin in Vermont, I used to stay there when things got too much, like after the breakup. We could go there now, nobody else knows that I have it so we wouldn't be found."  
"Sounds like a plan." Abby said as she drove the car out of the parking space and headed for the airport.

As the car progressed further and further away from Macey's apartment block, she was internally screaming. How could they have just left Evie? She understood that she was dead but still, it was just wrong. But it was life. She turned around and looked at Preston, who was staring out of the window. She wanted to talk to him. To tell him how she felt about leaving Evie so hastily. But she knew that it was no use, he wouldn't understand and neither would Abby.

In that moment, she couldn't wait to get to Vermont. It was her happy place. Her spiritual home. And she decided that she would shut herself in her room there for a few days. Away from Preston, Abby and the rest of reality. It would give her time to think about everything. So much had gone on over the last few days and her head was crowded with thoughts of confusion. She needed to do this. For once, she would do something for herself.

* * *

**You have permission to hate me, for am I a murderer of a fictional character.**

**And I just wanna warn y'all that it's not gonna get too depressing. Macey should sort herself out pretty quickly. (I literally just want to get to the Christmas chapters already, they're so much better.)**

**On the bright side, it's Easter this weekend. Which means too much chocolate and no school for two weeks (which should, hopefully, result in more updates.)**

**Thank you for reading, sorry it sucked. :) x**


	11. Chapter 11

**I feel mean. I killed a fictional child. Buuut it had to be done, and for that I am truly sorry. If i'd kept her alive then it would've resulted in a load of loose ends that i couldn't have tied up and it would have gotten weird.**

**Anyways, here is chapter 11.**

**DISCLAIMER: The Gallagher Girls series is extremely well written and therefore cannot be mine. All rights go to Ally Carter.**

* * *

As they drove closer and closer towards the airport Macey's thoughts were wandering. She had killed two people tonight. Her mind flickered back to the very first time that she had ever killed someone.

_It wasn't an accident, but she hadn't planned it either. She had been assigned to be the bodyguard of the daughter of the Senator of Massachusetts and one night in January, that daughter was almost killed by a man with a gun. The man had been diagnosed as clinically insane, and if Macey had known this she probably wouldn't have shot him. But she acted upon her instinct and shot the man straight in the chest. Everybody called her a hero. They praised her for her quick thinking and bravery but she didn't see it that way. She couldn't. All Macey could see herself as was a monster and a murderer. She had killed a man, and she had no idea how she was going to live with that. She had called Cammie the night that it had happened. Macey broke down in tears and couldn't contain herself._

_"I...I..I killed a man Cammie and I don't know what to do and..."_  
_"Macey. Calm down. It's okay, it's all gonna be okay."_

_"How do you do it? How do you sleep at night?"_

_"You just do. What you did, you saved a girl's life. That's why you went into the job that you did, to save people's lives. And that's what you did. Yes, you killed a man but that one man could have killed several people. And he didn't, because you stopped him. What you did was right, and when you realise that... Well that's how you sleep at night."_

_Despite Cammie's constant support, it still took Macey a while to accept what she had done. She replayed it over and over in her head. The man was going to shoot at the public, she shot at the man, she hit his chest, he dropped to the floor. That was the first time she had ever killed a man, but it was most certainly not the last._

Before she knew it, they were pulling into the long stay parking lot at Ronald Reagan National airport. Abby parked the car, they got their suitcases from the car and walked into the airport. They got through security and were waiting to board Macey's plane when Preston turned to face a silent, shaking Macey.

"Hey." He said, pulling her into a hug "You okay?"

"Yeah, i'm fine."

"No you're not, you're shaking."  
"Honestly, i'm fine." Macey said, pulling back from the hug and smiling. She took Preston's hand in her own and, with Abby way ahead of them, they walked out towards where Macey's jet was parked. They boarded her plane quickly. Macey sat on a chair by the window, Abby sat opposite her and Preston sat on the couch. Almost as soon as they had taken off, Preston was asleep and Abby and Macey sat there, neither of them speaking.

"You okay?" Abby asked Macey, breaking the silence.

"Yeah." she replied.

"Liar."

"I killed two people, and the person who I was supposed to protect is also dead."

"Better, now i'll ask again, are you okay?"

"I killed people again, and if I tell Preston then he'll never be able to look at me the same way."

"Then don't tell him. What he doesn't know can't hurt him."

"I feel bad though."  
"You can't let your emotions get in the way of your duty. We're off of American soil now, so you can stop worrying."

"I know. Just sometimes I feel like less of a government agent and more like a hitman."  
"That's what we are, government minions. Sometimes its exciting, sometimes you feel like a monster. But when you realise that we do what we do because it saves people's lives then you feel a little better about it."

"Feel better about what?" Preston asked, looking up.

"You weren't asleep very long." Macey stated trying desperately to change the subject.

"It's another 2 hours, I'll probably get more sleep at some point. What time will it be when we get there?"

"We'll land at 4, security and whatnot will take another hour and then an hour to the cabin. So about 5am" Abby said sleepily.

"Abby, there's a spare bedroom just off of that corridor, you should go and get some sleep because you look exhausted." Macey insisted and Abby, for once, didn't argue and walked out to the bedroom.

"You alright"? Preston asked.

"Yep." Macey said.

"You gonna tell me what happened earlier?"

"I.. I don't think I can. You'll judge me and.."  
"Macey, I don't think you understand just how much I know about your career. I know what kind of jobs the Secret Service have to do. I'm aware of how far you have to go to protect people."  
"How aware? And what exactly do you know?"

"I know that you've killed people." Preston said, and Macey's stomach flipped.

"How?"

"It was a guess,but you just confirmed it. So are you going to tell me what happened?"

"Damn you." Macey shook her head, laughing slightly to herself. "You do realise that if I tell you, it kinda makes you an accessory to a crime. And if i end up in federal prison then i'll bring you down with me."  
Preston laughed.

"I'm serious. You've gotta be sure that you want me to tell you, because I'm not too sure how federal prison would look on your permanent record."

"Tell me Macey, I want to know."

"I got out of the car, they walked towards me. I was talking to the first guy, trying to stall him but then Evie ran out in front of me and before me or Abby could stop him, the guy shot and the bullet hit Evie directly in the chest. She bled out and died immediately. So, out of anger, I turned and shot the first guy through the head and the second through the chest. They're dead, my shot never misses."

"This is why I try not to get on your bad side, you might turn and shoot me one day." Preston laughed a little, making light of the situation.

"That's not even funny." Macey muttered, moving over towards Preston on the couch and resting her head on his chest.

"You did the right thing. Evie just got caught up in the middle of a commotion that we couldn't stop. It's not your fault."  
"You don't hate me?" She looked up at him.

"I told you, I know what your career involves. Doesn't mean that I like it, or even that I agree with it. But I understand why you do it. So no, i'm not judging you and I most certainly do not hate you." he wrapped his arm around her shoulders, pulling her in closer to him.

Macey closed her eyes. They were in the sky, way up above everything and everyone. Nothing could touch her, nothing could harm her. So, wrapped in the arms of the person she loved the most, she allowed herself to fall into a deep sleep and dream of a place where the mistakes that she had made were forgotten and everything but her love for Preston was irrelevant.

* * *

**It sucks...it sucks a lot. Buuut I thought I should update again, just because.**

**(And I reeeeaaallllyyy want to get to the Christmas chapter, but i'm excited about the Vermont chapters too.) **

**Thank you for reading :) x**


	12. Chapter 12

**Welcome to Chapter 12, which is extremely short and likely to suck majorly.**

**Enjoy if you can. **

**DISCLAIMER: Ally Carter owns the Gallagher Girls series. I am not Ally Carter so the series is not mine.**

* * *

When they arrived at the cabin Macey pulled out her key, opened the front door and went straight into her bedroom, shutting the door behind her. Abby and Preston stood in the hall, slightly confused and unaware of what to do.

"What exactly...?" Abby started.

"I have no idea." Preston responded.

"Well are you going to talk to her or...?"

"I can try." He sighed and walked to the bedroom door. He knocked and waited for a response but there wasn't one. "Macey?" He called.

"What?" She retorted in a tone laced with anger and bitterness.

" Are you okay?"

"I'm fine, just leave me alone."  
"Fine." he sighed, walking away from the door and into the kitchen where Abby was already making coffee.

"How is she?" Abby asked.

"Locked herself in her bedroom and she told me to leave her alone. So my guess is pretty crap."

"Makes sense." she said, handing a cup of coffee to Preston. "She did get pretty attached to Evie."  
"She knew her for a day."  
"She was willing to die for her. It really doesn't make a difference whether you've known the protectee for an hour or two years, you get attached."

"I don't know what to do though Abby, I don't know how to help her."  
"Call Cammie, she had to help her mom when Matt died whilst trying to grieve herself. She might be able to help you. I'm gonna go get some sleep, you should try too." Abby said, taking her cup of coffee and her suitcase and walking to one of the bedrooms.

Preston sat on one of the stools at the counter and pulled his phone out of his back pocket. He took a sip of his coffee as he dialed Cammie's number and waited for the call to connect. After two rings, she picked up.

"Hey Preston." A happy voice answered the phone, and this pleased Preston. A happy Cammie was good.  
"Hey Cam."  
"You alright? You don't sound alright."

"Yeah, but I kinda need your help. Well, Macey's the one who needs help but she's kinda not speaking right now.."  
"What's happened? Is she okay?"  
"Long story short, she shot two guys. She was trying to protect a little girl who she'd grown quite attached to but the men shot the girl and now all three of them are dead and Macey thinks it's her fault."

"Shit." Cammie exclaimed. "How exactly can I help? What do you want me to do?"

"When your dad died, how did you cope? I mean, I know i've lost a parent too but it was different. Your dad was a good guy, mine wanted to take over the planet."  
"I had to keep telling myself that there was nothing I could do when he died. I couldn't have stopped it and it was bound to happen. You need to get Macey to see that it wasn't her fault. If she had been able to do something about it, then she would've done it."

"Right, okay. Thank you."

"No problem. If there's anything else I can do..."

"I'll call you."

"Send her my love, look after her Preston."

"I will. Bye Cam."

"Bye Pres."  
He placed the phone down on the counter again and walked out to Macey's bedroom door again. Just like before, he knocked on the door and waited for a response.

"What?" Macey called out.

"I get that you're not in the mood to talk or anything, but just open the door." Preston replied. A few seconds later the door opened slightly and he walked in.

The curtains were drawn shut but a slither of sunlight still managed to creep in. Macey was curled up under her duvet and her suitcase was standing in the corner. Preston walked in and sat on the end of the bed.

"What exactly do you want?" Macey asked, facing towards the wall and away from Preston.

"I don't want anything. I just... I just want to know that you're okay."  
"I am. I'm fine."  
"I've been around you long enough to know that when you say 'fine' it doesn't really mean 'fine'."

"Whatever Preston."  
"Listen, Macey. I was talking to Cammie and..."  
"Wait, what?"

"I spoke to Cammie.."  
"Of course you did. It figures really, the minute we're back together you're already trying to become best friends with Cammie like before. It wouldn't surprise me if you only decided to get back with me so that you can start hanging out with Cammie again."  
"Now you're just being ridiculous."

"Oh I'M the ridiculous one? Sure. You know, why don't you go and tell that to Cammie. She seems to be the one you run to with all your problems all the time."  
"Damn it Macey!" Preston snapped and turned away from her, she knew that she had made him angry. Seeing as this didn't happen very often, it shocked her a little. "Listen to me, I asked Cammie for help."  
"With what?"

"Let me finish and you'll understand. I asked her for help with you. I know that this whole situation over the past couple of days has really gotten to you, but I don't know what to do. So I called Cammie so that I could find out how she dealt with the death of her dad. And before you say it, I know that my dad died too but Cammie's father was one of the good guys. My dad wasn't. There was nothing you could've done, you were willing to die for Evie and you tried to. But you couldn't save her and it wasn't your fault."

"Preston, I...I'm sorry. I should've just listened to you but I got jealous. Thank you, for trying to help me. I know there's nothing I could've done but I can't help thinking that it was my fault. It was nobody else's fault, so it has to be mine." Macey said, her voice cracking and tears beginning to spill over her eyelids.

"Hey, it's okay." Preston moved closer to her and pulled her into a hug while she sobbed uncontrollably.

Macey cried for hours. Literal, actual hours. By about 4pm, both Macey and Preston were fast asleep. Macey, exhausted from crying and Preston exhausted from comforting her. Neither of them had wanted to fight. Neither of them had wanted Evie to die. Both of them had considered adopting her. But plans had changed, _they_ had changed. And now they were in Vermont, and would be until they had to go to Gallagher in 3 days. Nobody could find them here. The little ounces of hope, happiness and love that they had couldn't be tainted. They had each other. And for now, that was enough. It would have to be.

* * *

**It's short, I'm sorry. But it's here to fill a gap and that is exactly what it's doing. Also sorry about Macey being so depressing and temperamental (and clingy and jealous and basically just irritating) at the moment.**

**I might as well warn you now, the next chapter is going to be like 3 days from where it is now to speed things up a bit (Because there is a limitation as to what Macey and Preston can do in a cabin in the middle of nowhere in December for 3 days whilst keeping it PG.) So the next chapter will probably be like the built up to the journey to Gallagher &amp; whatnot. Or maybe not, because idk how imma structure it yet. **

**(Did you guys know that 'Whatnot' is _actually_ a word? Cause I didn't)**

**Anyways, thank you for reading :) x**


	13. Chapter 13

**Hey Hey, this one is RIDICULOUSLY short and i'm really sorry but I literally cannot expand on this part. Oh and sorry for the random update but I felt like it needed to be done.**

**Enjoy.**

* * *

The next few days went pretty quickly for Macey and Preston. On the morning of the 22nd, Abby decided that she should go home.

"I really ought to go home today, Townsend will be wondering what the hell I'm doing. And you know what he's like." Abby said as she finished packing her things back into her suitcase.  
"Naww you miss him." Macey teased.

"Oh go play with Preston." Abby rolled her eyes.

"Abby i'm not a child, I don't respond to 'go play' anymore."  
"I think you misunderstood the double meaning "  
"Of course I didn't, but you disgust me so I chose to ignore it."  
Abby laughed as she pulled her suitcase towards the door. "You love me really"

"Don't flatter yourself."  
"I have Townsend to do that for me."

"Yeah, I bet that isn't all he's doing for you." Macey laughed and Abby rolled her eyes again.

"Well I'm going. Thank you, for letting me stay."

"I should be the one thanking you. For everything you've done over the past couple of days"  
"It's no problem." Abby smiled. She hugged Macey and walked out of the cabin door and to her car.

"I'll see you in two days." Abby said, getting into her car and waving goodbye.

Macey and Preston spent most of the day of the 23rd watching Christmas movies and drinking hot chocolate. That was, until Preston realised that he still hadn't got Macey a present and insisted on rushing out to find something. He was gone from around lunchtime to nearly 9 o'clock that night. Macey didn't mind though, she had needed some time to herself and was kind of thankful that he took so long.

"What took you so long?" Macey got up from the sofa, still wrapped in a blanket, and went to the hallway where Preston was taking his shoes off.

"You have expectations higher than most of the mountain ranges on the planet. And I never disappoint."

"Can I know what it is?" She questioned anxiously.

"Sorry, did I forget the date? Is it Christmas yet?"

"Noooo" Macey said, with a disappointed look on her face.

"Well then you'll have to wait."

"I hate you."  
"No you don't. You love me."  
"Hmmm, that is true." She smiled, wrapping her arms around his neck and embracing him tightly. And it was true, she loved him more than anything in the world.

On the 24th, Christmas Eve, Preston woke Macey at 11am. Today, they were going back to the Gallagher Academy. Their flight was at 12:30pm and it only took ten minutes or so to get to the airport.

"Macey, Mace wake up."  
"Ughhh go away. I want to sleep." Macey groaned, throwing a pillow at Preston and rolling over to face the wall.  
"We need to be on a plane in an hour."  
"An _hour_?" She sat bold upright and glared at Preston. "We need to get on a plane today and you wake me up an _hour _before we go? Smart, Preston. You know, if you do run for office and you get elected then God will need to help America,nevermind bless it, because we'll be late for everything." Macey said, getting up out of bed and stumbling into the bathroom to get dressed.

They had packed their stuff the night before so everything was ready to go. Apart from Macey of course.

When she emerged from the bathroom, half an hour after she had gone in there, Macey was wearing a black lace cocktail dress, skin coloured tights and red heels. Her thick hair was piled up on top of her head in a neat bun and her makeup was natural but noticeable.

"About time too." Preston said, smiling.

"Well if you'd woken me earlier..." she trailed off and he laughed.

Macey pulled on her red coat and grabbed her black handbag. She took hold of her suitcase and walked out to the taxi which was ready to take them to the airport. They both put their cases in the car and Macey locked the cabin. She didn't want to leave. She loved Vermont, she loved her cabin. But going back to Gallagher would be good. Because she loved her friends, and Preston, and she wanted nothing more than to be with them in the first place that Macey had ever been able to call her home.

* * *

**It's not even 1000 words and I kinda don't wanna put it up because of that, but thankfully enough after this chapter it's all the Christmas crap so the chapters get longer and more dramatic.**

**Thank you for reading :) x**

**P.S: Can you pleeeaassseeee review if you read this chapter, cause I feel like i'm posting into a void of emptiness? Ta x**


	14. AUTHORS NOTE (BUT PLEASE READ)

**Don't get to excited, it's literally just a short author's note.**

**I felt like I should clear a couple of things up before I put the next chapter on because it probably won't answer a lot of the questions that i've been asked.**

**First thing: _Zammie_**

**A couple of people have now asked me to include Cammie/Zach (Zammie) in the story. This was my intention from the very start. Although the story is mainly based around Macey and Preston, I didn't want to just write about them. As we get into the Christmas chapters you can expect a lot more of everyone else. Especially Zammie! **

**Second thing: _Townsend_**

**I felt like this was an issue that I needed to address when I first started writing this story because sometimes I do confuse myself. Townsend _is _already a character in the series and his relationship with Abby _is_ part of GG6 (Yay for Tabby). However, if he does seem Out Of Character in future chapters then I apologise but I have tried to incorporate him in the story as best as I could. **

**Thank you all for reading and reviewing (Although it's fine if you don't review) and thank you for your continuous support with the story. :) x**


	15. Chapter 14

**IT'S HERE AND I'M SO EXCITED I GET TO RELIVE CHRISTMAS TIME ALL OVER AGAIN! (I'm sorry, I'm a bit of a child.)**

**See, I started writing this in December so that's why we're having Christmas in April. I felt like I should put this chapter up tonight because... I actually can't think of a decent reason so here's chapter 14.**

**Enjoy x**

**DISCLAIMER: I don't own Gallagher Girls, all rights go to Ally Carter.**

**(P.S: The Zammie stuff is probably gonna be in the next few chapters after this, I'm trying to get them settled first. Please don't attack me with pitchforks and torches. I am not a witch and this is not the 1500's.)**

* * *

Macey hadn't been quite sure what to expect upon their arrival back at the Gallagher Academy but as the limo pulled up in front of the ivy covered walls she felt at home. The mansion still looked as daunting yet as inviting as ever and she was glad to be back. Macey and Preston stepped out of the car and began the walk down the long path to the mansion. They may have been a little late, but of course it was as fashionably as ever. Hand in hand, they stood at the entrance and waited for the doors to be opened.

As they waited for the doors to be opened, Macey thought back. To the first time that she and Preston had been seen together, officially, in public. It was all over the tabloids. They were the perfect couple. A White House wedding was just the thing that America needed, and Macey and Preston would be the ones to give it to them. Everybody was talking about what a match they were. Macey and her picture perfect looks that belonged to the cover of Vogue, and Preston and his handsomeness and charming personality. They fitted the stereotypical perfect American couple complete with the white picket fence.

And that's exactly what she tried to keep in her mind when Cammie and Zach came to the mansion door.

"Macey! And Preston, what a..." Cammie didn't get to finish as Macey and Preston walked inside.

"It's not a surprise, i put a bet on it, ha!" Grant's voice was heard and he appeared with the rest of the gang from around a corner

"And it was statistically probable that Preston was Macey's plus one, we did say." Liz piped up and Jonas nodded in agreement, making everyone laugh.

"You know, it's Christmas eve and y'all really don't seem that excited." Bex said.

"Well let us actually get in the door before we start the catch-up talk and then I may seem a bit happier" Macey stated.

"Well go and put your things upstairs and be down in the hall in 15 minutes, okay?" Cammie said. Macey and Preston nodded and they walked up the stairs. When they were sure that they were out of earshot of the other, Preston said "So they don't want to physically abuse me just yet."  
"I told you, it's all fine. They'll probably ask me for details later but it's all fine. So calm yourself."  
"You're awfully relaxed since we arrived."

"I feel at home." Macey said, as she reached the dorm room that she used to share with her 3 best friends.

"Erm... they didn't actually tell me which room i'm supposed to be in" Preston said awkwardly.

"Just put your stuff in my room for now, we'll move it later." Macey said, opening the door. She walked in and placed her suitcase on what used to be her bed and Preston did the same.

"So, did you manage to get me a wonderfully amazing christmas present?" Macey asked.

"Well you'll have to wait until tomorrow and find out then."  
"But Presttoonnnnn..."  
"Maceeyyyy..." He mimicked.

"Seriously, will i like it?"

"You better." He laughed.

"Can't you just tell me what it is?" Macey asked sweetly, trying to convince him.

"You are honestly the most impatient person I have ever met." He laughed.

"You didn't answer my question" she stated.

"No. I am not going to tell you what I've got you for Christmas." Preston rolled his eyes.

"I'd give you something in return." she said, stepping towards him and playing with his tie in a suggestive manner. Macey brought her lips to his and kissed him so lightly, they barely touched. She did this with the intention of making him want more, and that was exactly what she had done. Suddenly the door opened loudly, causing Macey and Preston to jump away from each other.

"How long does it take for you guys to put your stuff in a room?" Cammie asked, waltzing into the room with Bex and Liz hot on her trail.

"I mean, we would ask what you've been doing for the past 23.4 minutes but then again, do we _really _need to know?" Bex questioned.

"There's this funny thing called having a conversation that normal people do. Maybe you should try that sometime." Macey exclaimed sarcastically.

"So, are we going down to the hall or...?" Liz intervened.

"Yep, come on." Bex said, grabbing Macey's arm and sauntering down the main staircase to the grand hall as if they still did it every day. Bex pulled Macey to the same table where they had sat every day throughout their school life. Cammie and Liz soon joined them.

"Where's Preston?" Macey asked, almost too quickly.

"Calm it Mace, he's with Zach and the others. They wanted to talk about something. Sometimes I think they could gossip more than Tina." Cammie said, and they laughed.

"So, are you going to explain?" Liz asked Macey.

"Explain what?" Macey sounded genuinely confused, which she was.

"Explain why Preston is here. With you. What's been going on?"

"Where do you want me to start?"

"The beginning is generally a good idea." Bex said, still as sassy as ever.

"I saw him, at an event about a week and a half ago. I got really freaked out and we talked and he apologised and we kissed. Then i ran out of the hotel where the event was and went home but about 10 minutes after i got home, he turned up at my apartment. He ended up staying the night.." Macey trailed off, looking down.

"And i'm guessing you don't mean on the sofa." Bex added and Macey shook her head, laughing slightly.

"Continue" Cammie instructed.

"Right, so i woke up the next morning and completely freaked out. We argued and he left. Then there was another fundraiser event that night, and he was there. Because it was the anniversary of the miscarriage, i completely broke down and ended up telling him everything. He flew off the handle at our parents because nobody had told him, so we all ended up arguing and he decided to give me some space or whatever. I went home again, crying and he turned up at my apartment completely drunk. He stayed over, nothing happened but i didn't sleep. I was up the whole night contemplating what to do. And then in the morning i told him i still love him. I think you get the idea." Macey sighed deeply.

Cammie, Bex and Liz just sat there, staring at her and taking in what she had just said to them. Macey stared back for about 2 minutes, until it began to get creepy.

"So, let me get this straight, it's been a week and a half?" Bex asked.

"Yeah.."

"Okay then."

"I think it's pretty cute, apart from him being a bit of a jerk" Liz smiled and Macey was thankful for the fact that she was receiving support.

Cammie stayed silent which made Macey concerned.

"Why haven't you said anything? Do you think i've made the wrong decision?" Macey asked, looking at Cammie.

"No, Macey. It's not that I think you've made the wrong decision. It's just..."

"Just what Cam?"

"Everything he did to you, it's been 5 years Macey. 5 actual years. You've both changed a lot and i just don't want to see you go through what you did before." Cammie smiled, and Macey knew that she had her best interests at heart but she couldn't help but be a little annoyed with the way that she had reacted to the news.

Almost as if on cue, Preston, Zach, Grant and Jonas walked in and sat down next to the girls.

"Why do you guys look like a sad, lonely, emo cult? Seriously, kill the misery, it's Christmas eve!" Grant exclaimed like an excited little child but the mood didn't seem to lighten.

Preston looked at Macey from the opposite side of the table. She looked towards the door and he understood the signal to leave. They got up from the table at the same time, and walked out knowing that everyone was going to talk once they had left the room. They walked up the stairs and to the room where their stuff was. They grabbed their coats and walked back down the stairs and out onto the grounds of the school.

Once they were outside, Macey felt that it was safer to talk but still, she waited for Preston to start the conversation.

"Are you okay?" he asked her, slipping his hand into hers.

"Yeah.. Yeah i'm fine."  
"Macey, i mean it. What's wrong?"

" Cammie's acting weirdly." Macey sighed.

"Weirdly, how?"

"Just...weird. Like, they asked me the backstory behind us being together again and once i'd finished talking she just seemed really quite and well, weird."

"Did she say anything to you?"

"She just said that she doesn't want to see me go through what I did before. And that, because it's been so long we're different people now."

"I suppose that's true."

"Look, you're not going to like this. And you've got to promise not to get all mad at me, okay?" Macey stopped and turned to face Preston.

"Go on, promise i won't get mad."

"Did anything happen between you and Cammie? At all, ever?"

"No, Macey. God no. I mean, there were thoughts but they were never acted upon."

"Right." She said, resting her head on his shoulder and continuing to walk.

"Other than that, is everything okay?"

"How'd you mean?"

"Have you been sleeping properly?"

"Not really, why?"

"Because the other night, you woke up after a nightmare and you were screaming. I don't remember what you said to me, but you look really tired again."  
"I've been having the same nightmare for a week and a half." Macey put her head down a little.

"You wanna talk about it?"

"Not really, it's not a big deal."

Preston wrapped an arm around Macey's shoulder and pulled her closer into him. "You should really wake me up." He said.

"It's just a stupid dream, so i don't want to wake you."

"I wasn't there for you for a long time, and I regret that. So let me make up for it by being there whenever i can, even if it is stupid." He kissed the top of her head and she smiled.

They continued to walk around the grounds for a little while without talking. There wasn't anything that either of them wanted to say, the fact that they weren't alone for another Christmas was comforting for the both of them. After a little while, they stopped and Macey turned to Preston.

"We should go back inside, it's nearly dark and they'll be wondering where we've gone." She said.

"You can't keep worrying about what everybody else thinks, you know. You need to do what's right for yourself. If you're not happy then you've got to change something. It's better to do it sooner rather than later." Preston smiled at her, tucking a strand of her hair behind her ear.

"It's much easier said than done though. Because some people are saying one thing and others are saying another. It's just confusing, you know?" She said, as they started to head back towards the mansion.

"Yeah, I know. Who's telling you what?"

"Bex says I shouldn't stay with you, Liz says I should if it's what i want, and Cammie's just not talking about it but I know that she agrees with Bex. And I know that they're just looking out for me and that it's because they don't want me to get hurt but having this constant sense of indecisiveness is hurting me just as bad."

"What do you think you should do?"

"The way I see it, I can't keep shielding myself from everything in case my heart gets broken. And yes, being with you was hard work but god, it was worth it. There were so many more good times than bad, so many days that I was thankful for having you there with me. I can't not be with you in case something happens and we split up again. It's not even in question, I want to be with you."

"You're allowed to walk away."  
"What?"

"If you can't do this Macey, if you feel at any point that you can't be with me then you can walk away."

"I wouldn't... I couldn't just walk out. Not like you did. I wouldn't want you to be on the receiving end of that, no matter how I felt." She said, stopping as they came to the doors of the hall.

"Are we walking in together or are you standing out here for longer?" Preston asked her.

"If we walk in separately they'll think that something's wrong." She replied, grabbing hold of Preston's hand again and walking into the Grand Hall together. Her guard was back up, right up. Macey McHenry was absolutely determined not to let anything get to her tonight.

* * *

**It's so long I'm so sorry. **

**Literally it's like, over 2,000 words and I'm sorry about the sucky ending. Normally I have like a really dramatic paragraph but there's gonna be so much drama soon you'll get sick of it.**

**I just read over my AN at the beginning of this chapter, idk why I brought the 1500's into this. I'm such a nerd, leave me alone.**

**Thank y'all for reading x **


	16. Chapter 15

**THIS IS REALLY LATE AND RUSHED BC MY FRIEND IS DEMANDING THAT I UPDATE OKAY IM SORRY. **

**Chapter dedicated to the aforementioned friend, whose username dislikes my laptop. **

**DISCLAIMER: i dont own the series, ect. ya get it by now.**

* * *

When they walked back into the hall, they were greeted by the faces of Cammie, Zach, Bex,Grant,Liz and Jonas sitting in the same seats as they were when Macey and Preston had left. Rachel, Joe, Townsend and Abby were also sitting with them. As they approached the table, everyone looked up at them.

"Where did you two disappear to?" asked Bex.

"Yeah, and do we actually want to know?" Zach added, causing everyone to laugh a little.

"We went for a walk" Macey stated.

"Oh is that what they call it now?" Townsend sniggered from the end of the table and Abby slapped his arm lightly.

Macey went and sat down in between Cammie and Liz, and Preston sat opposite next to Grant and Jonas. For a little while, small conversations continued between different people. Rachel and Joe were discussing something to do with the school, Zach, Grant, Jonas and Preston were talking about some stupid game, Cammie, Bex and Liz were discussing work and Abby and Townsend were squabbling about something petty. Macey just sat there, feeling strangely isolated from the people who usually made her feel the exact opposite. She stared into space and thought about her first week at Gallagher, and how welcome everybody had made her feel. But now she felt more like she did at family events, the one that nobody spoke about, the one without a proper purpose.

She was so deep in her thoughts that she barely noticed Abby trying to catch her attention but when she looked up she saw Abby beckoning for her to come and speak to her. Macey got up and sat on the seat next to Abby.

"You certainly look happy." Abby said sarcastically.

"You know me, just another little ray of sunshine." Macey replied, equally as sarcastic.

"What's the problem?"

"Preston."

"Again? What's he done now?" Abby sighed, Preston always seemed to be Macey's problem.

"He hasn't done anything exactly. It's just that Bex and Cammie are making it seem like i'm making the wrong decision by being with him and it's making me question my judgement."

"You have to do what's right by yourself."

"That's exactly what he said."

"Well I do hate to say it but he's right. You love him?" Abby asked.

"Yeah. Yeah I think so." Macey said, glancing down the table to where Preston was and smiling at him.

"And you're happy with him?"

"Yeah."

"Then you're doing the right thing. Don't let anyone tell you otherwise. Besides, you never normally let anyone tell you what to do so why start now?"

"Thank you Abby." Macey smiled, and she felt a bit better now after getting another opinion.

"You're more than welcome, you know i'm always here, especially if you need to talk about temperamental boyfriends or bullet wound or whatever" Abby said, making Macey laugh.

"Speaking of temperamental, how are you and Townsend?"

"He's lucky to still be alive." Abby said, which was her usual response. Abby and Townsend had always had a very love/hate relationship, often with more hate on the surface.

"So all is good then?"

"Yeah, as good as good gets with us."

* * *

The rest of the evening was strange. Grant had complained that he was hungry, so they decided to order pizza. They'd all sat and eaten the pizza whilst continuing the constant circle of conversation for another 3 hours. During this time, Macey and Cammie didn't speak once. Cammie spoke to other people, she'd spent about an hour and a half talking to Preston. Macey was sat at the opposite end of the table with Liz and Abby and every time Cammie giggled or Preston laughed, Macey would begin to get restless. Abby and Liz managed to keep her calm but it was obvious that she was still extremely annoyed.

After 2 hours of listening to the constant giggling and laughing coming from Preston and Cammie, Macey had had enough.

"I swear to god i'm gonna say something in a minute" Macey whispered angrily through gritted teeth.

"No you're not" Abby stated and Liz nodded in agreement.

"Well I'm sure as hell not going to sit and listen to it anymore" Macey got up so fast that neither Liz nor Abby had time to talk her out of it. She stormed over to where she had been sitting previously (where Cammie was now sitting), grabbed her coat and left the hall in a fit of rage.

The chatter throughout the room dulled until everybody was quite.

"Whose going after her?" Bex asked, sounding tired and bored of the whole situation.

"I'll go" Preston sighed, about to get up but Abby stopped him.

"Something tells me that that probably isn't the best idea. Liz, go." She instructed and Liz walked out of the hall to find Macey.

Liz had started by looking upstairs, but Macey was nowhere to be seen. Then, as she was coming down the staircase, Liz looked out of a window and saw that Macey was outside. When she finally got out to her, Macey was staring out at the grounds in a trance.

"Macey?" Liz's soft voice echoed in the cold wind. The December air was freezing, and Liz sat down next to Macey,shivering. Macey turned to face Liz.

"Oh, hey." She smiled, taking off her coat and wrapping it around Liz's small, delicate shoulders.

"You okay?" Liz asked, pulling the coat over herself and moving closer to Macey.

"Not really. You didn't have to come out here."

"Abby sent me. Preston was going to come and find you but we figured that it was probably a bad idea to let him see you."

"It's so frustrating. I asked him earlier if anything had gone on with him and Cammie and he said no, but 'there were thoughts'. Like, what does he mean? Does he want to be with her, because god knows I am not stopping him at all."

"They're just friends Macey. You know that. Remember how close they were when you and Preston were together. She took your side when he left and she hasn't spoken to him in 5 years, so they're getting along again. I'm sure it's nothing more than that."

"I suppose you're right Lizzie."

"You shouldn't worry so much Macey, he loves you. Anyone can see that."

"I don't see it."

"You're not supposed to see it, you're supposed to feel it. And you can only do that if you believe it yourself, okay?"

"I've missed having you to talk to"

"I'm always at the end of the phone. You know you can call me whenever you want Macey."

"Thank you Liz, for everything" They stood up and Macey pulled Liz into a hug.

"Can we like, go back inside. It's freezing out here."

"Sure." Macey smiled and they walked back into the mansion. When they got to the doors of the grand hall, Macey stopped.

"Are you going in?" Liz asked quietly and Macey shook her head.

"I might just go upstairs, i'm really not in the mood to face them again tonight."

"Okay."

"What's happening with the rooms?"

"Boys are in the dorm opposite us, we're in the room where you put your things."

"Tell Preston that his stuff is in their room then. I'll probably be asleep when you all come up."

"Alright. I'll tell them." Liz smiled and hugged Macey before going back into the hall. Macey walked up the stairs and down the corridor to where their room was. She pulled Preston's suitcase out of their room and put it in the doorway of the boy's dorm. Macey put some of her things away and got changed into her pyjamas. She took off her makeup, put her hair up and crawled under the covers, hoping that she would drift of into a deep sleep.

* * *

**Sorry for spelling/grammar mistakes, haven't been to sleep in literally 2 days.**

**Also sorry for lack of Zammie, it's coming. I promise.**

**Thank you for reading :) x**


	17. Chapter 16

**I might update this twice today, despite the fact that it's already 6:30pm.**

**Welcome to chapter 16, it all gets a bit weirder from here so this should be fun. **

**Enjoy x**

**P.S: Literally couldn't fit Zammie in this chapter bc it's very central around Macey, so it's in the next chapter. **

* * *

Unfortunately, Macey was still awake when Cammie, Bex and Liz came in half an hour later. She had turned over and was facing the wall, so they assumed that she was asleep and came in quietly. Macey lay there waiting for them to fall asleep. After a while she could hear Bex and Liz snoring subtly but she was unsure as to whether Cammie was asleep to. She could never tell when Cammie was asleep.

A few moments later, Macey was sure that she had heard the door open. She didn't want to sit up and look because if Cammie _was_ still awake then she'd probably try and start a conversation. And Macey was not in the right mood. Macey didn't usually question her own assumptions, which is why when she thought she heard whispering, she was sure that somebody else was in the room. Intrigued, she moved into a position where her face still couldn't be seen but where she could hear better.

"Wait, are you sure that she's asleep?" Oddly enough, the voice sounded like Preston.

"Yes. She was asleep when we all came up here. What exactly is so important that you need to talk about it now?" Cammie _was_ awake then.

"I need to tell her." He stated plainly, which confused Macey.

"Tell her what?"

"About what happened, with us."

"Preston it's been years. Literally 3 years. Why do you need to tell her now?"

"I don't know...I just...she's been so ridiculously honest with me about everything and it's making me feel guilty. I've screwed things up with her before and I can't let myself do it again. I love her too much to do that."

"We agreed that we wouldn't tell her. I mean, don't get me wrong I think she should have been told. But _you_ were the one who decided that you didn't want her to know."

"Yeah. At the time. I just don't think I can keep it from her anymore Cam. You're her best friend and we slept together. Three times."

"You're telling me like I wasn't there. And can we just stick with twice, because I didn't tell certain people about the third time."

"By certain people you mean Zach."

"Yeah, Bex knows about the whole thing. Look, just wait until after Christmas okay? I don't think it's the sort of thing we need to announce over dinner tomorrow."

"Fair point."

"Now can you like, go? I want to sleep." Cammie said, and after everything she had just heard Macey wondered whether Cammie was indirectly dropping a hint.

"Night Cam." Preston said and Macey heard Cammie's mattress moving, followed by the door closing.

Macey didn't know what she was feeling. There were elements of confusion but the most predominant feelings were those of anger and annoyance. Preston had stood in front of Macey less than 10 hours ago and completely denied the presence of any kind of connection between himself and Cammie. But it had all just been a lie. And the fact that Zach _and_ Bex knew about it all was even more infuriating for Macey. It was obvious that the feelings of distance and isolation that Macey had been overwhelmed with previously that day weren't unnecessary because now she felt even more isolated.

She tried to sleep. All night long, Macey tossed and turned repeatedly in a desperate attempt to fall asleep. She tried not to think about everything that she had heard but she was so frustrated that it was the only thought in her mind. Everytime she closed her eyes all she could see were mental images of Cammie and Preston. And that was _not_ something that she ever wanted to even think about, let alone be able to picture.

She considered going into the boy's dorm and speaking to Preston. But what would she say? If she explained to him that she'd overheard the conversation between him and Cammie then he'd become extremely freaked out. The whole of Christmas would be ruined because the tension between Preston, Cammie, Macey, Zach and even Bex would become so ridiculous that it would eventually come out and everybody would know. Everybody that didn't already know, that is. So she wouldn't speak to Preston about it. She would have to act like she didn't know which wouldn't be too difficult. Macey was used to pretending.

_Pretending that she was part of a normal family._

_Pretending that she liked the outfit that her mother had made her wear for some stupid TV appearance._

_Pretending that she didn't love Preston after he had left her._

_Pretending that the miscarriage hadn't affected her as much as it did_.

She was so used to putting on a fake smile and putting on an act that it was almost sad. It was second nature to her, like lying seemed to be second nature to Preston. As she lay there, thoughts circled round and round her head in a continuous cycle.

_Why didn't anybody tell me?_

_What actually happened between them?_

_Why did it happen?_

_How is Zach okay with this?_

_How many people actually know?_

And there was one last thought before she drifted off into a light sleep:

_What the hell am I going to do?_

* * *

**It's sooooo short and I am extremely sorry. It's reeealllly bad as well.**

**Good news though, I know exactly where I'm going with this story now. Thanks to my very very helpful best friend who has been ABSOLUTELY AMAZING. **

**Anyways,**

**Thank you for reading :) x**


	18. Chapter 17

**Told you i'd probably update twice within the whole day. Ha.**

**Not much to say tbh, so enjoy x**

* * *

It was horrible. It was horrible for everyone. Christmas was fine, nobody said anything. Nobody knew how. It wasn't exactly like you could just bring it up in a normal conversation. So Preston didn't say anything and neither did Cammie. But Cammie picked up on the fact that Macey still wouldn't speak to her. If they did have to talk, Macey was extremely blunt and desperately tried to get out of the conversation.

"I don't even understand what i've done wrong. She's being so out of order." Cammie said, looking at Zach. They were sitting in one of the old secret passageways that had been reconstructed after the fire.

"I'm sure she's not being like it for no reason. You must've done something that upset her, even if you've done it unintentionally."

"She's literally just stopped talking to me since Christmas day."

"Well, did something happen on Christmas Eve?"

"No, I mean, we barely spoke and the only time we were in the same rooms was in the hall and in the dorm. She was asleep when we got up there. I was talking to Preston before I went to sleep but I would've known if she was awake."

"What were you two talking about?"

"Preston was freaking out because he wanted to tell Macey about what happened between us a few years ago."

"And you're sure she didn't hear?"

"I would've known if she was asleep..."

"She's a spy too, remember?"

"Shit. Zach, what if she did hear? What am I gonna do? She'll be so mad at me. I should've just told her 3 years ago, damn it."

"Hey, come here." Zach pulled her into a hug. "Stop freaking out. It'll all be okay. If she didn't hear then you have nothing to worry about and if she did then i'm sure you'll find out soon enough. She can't stay mad at you forever, after all it was Preston who started it all. And he's the one who decided not to tell her."

"So you're saying I've just got to wait it out and try and guess if she knows?"

"I'm saying you shouldn't worry about it Gallagher girl, you made that decision not to tell her 3 years ago and there's nothing you can do about it now. So stop worrying. It'll all sort itself out eventually."

* * *

Macey left it until after the new year, but she decided that she need to say something. She wasn't going to go directly to Preston and confront him, and the same with Cammie. She considered going to speak to Bex but she knew how to get real answers. They were leaving Gallagher tomorrow morning, so she had to do it now. She had to speak to Zach.

"Zach? You in there?" Macey knocked on the door of the boy's dorm which opened immediately.

"Macey? What's up?" Zach asked, standing in the doorway.

"Can I come in? I gotta talk to you about something."

"Sure." He opened the door and she walked in. "So, what's the problem then?"

"I know about Preston and Cammie."

"I figured, seeing as you're not speaking to her at all."

"She should've told me."  
"You're still speaking to Preston though, and he could've told you too."

"Yeah but I was actually in contact with Cam at the time, I wasn't speaking to Preston so he wasn't exactly going to call me and tell me that he'd slept with my best friend multiple times, was he?"

"I suppose not."

"And I honestly don't get how you're okay with it all."

"Me and Cam weren't exactly together at the time. We hadn't exactly split up but we were giving each other space, and seeing other people. I came back from a mission and I was talking with Preston. He was the one who told me, so I confronted Cam who said that it was true. I asked her if it was just a one-time thing but she didn't answer. Preston told me that it'd happened twice, but I figured there were details that were being withheld. I didn't really want to know to be honest."

"Right..."

"Look, if I can get over it then so can you."  
"It's not that easy Zach. She could have actually told me, she told Bex. God knows who else knows about it."

"Joe and Townsend both know too."

"Does Abby know?"

"No, neither does Rachel. But it's bound to come out now."

"It's so ridiculous. Preston openly told me that nothing happened between him and Cammie."  
"I realise how twisted this is gonna sound, but I think he was just trying to protect you."

"I know, i just have no idea what to do now. Do I tell them that I know? I'm still not talking to Cammie so don't even go there."

"Wasn't going to." Zach held his hands up in a surrender. "Look, I'll tell Preston and Cammie that you know. If they try and apologise then just listen. You don't have to forgive them, but you need to try."

"Fine. Thanks Zach, you've actually helped me for once in your life."  
"Oh and this is the part when you start being an asshole again. Nice one McHenry." He said, and Macey walked out the door laughing.

* * *

"So, what exactly did she say to you?" Preston said anxiously.

Zach sighed. "For the fifth time, she literally just told me that she knew what had happened between you and Cammie. Then she asked me how I was okay with it, and she wanted to know who else knew. That's it."  
"But, how did she seem? Was she angry?"

"Yeah, just a little bit. Preston, you've really screwed up by not telling her until now. And Cam's getting all the blame for it."

"Well there really isn't much that I can do about that, is there?"

"Talk to Macey, explain to her what happened. Give her every detail you feel that she needs to know. And then try and get her to talk to Cammie, because she's going insane."

"I don't even know if Macey's gonna talk to me, I can't just assume that she'll listen."

"You've got the best chance, out of all of us she's most likely to try and forgive you first. She loves you."

"I don't know if that's gonna be enough anymore."

"For her or for you?"  
"For her. I've screwed up too many times now that I don't know if I can fix it this time."

"Bullshit Preston, absolute bullshit."  
"Thanks Zach, real supportive."

"Look, I'm not gonna sit and cry with you whilst watching sappy movies if that's what you mean by support. It's very simple what you need to do. If you love her, you'll work your ass off to get her back."

"I know, that's exactly what I'm gonna do."

"Well you better make a start then."

* * *

**Not the longest chapter i've ever written but it's over 1000 words so I felt a little better. **

**Hope it wasn't too terrible, or boring, or confusing. And sorry for any mistakes, i'm actually too lazy to re-read it again.**

**Thank you for reading :) x**


	19. Chapter 18

**It's another really short one and i'm sorry. I'm trying to make them longer but i'm trying to spread stuff out between chapters which makes them shorter.**

**Either way, here's chapter 18. **

**Enjoy x**

* * *

It had been a month since Macey found out about Cammie and Preston. She was still talking to everyone else but she hadn't spoken to Cammie since Christmas. Preston had tried to get Macey to talk to her but it hadn't worked and now Macey wouldn't speak to Preston either. She had shut herself up in her apartment and wouldn't come out. Her phone was filled with missed calls, voicemails and texts from everyone, but mostly Preston and Cammie.

It was two o'clock in the morning, and Macey was still sat on the couch watching TV when there was a knock at the door. She ignored it at first, because whoever it was obviously didn't realise the situation that she was in and the fact that she was not in the mood to talk. But the knocking continued to the point where she was getting so annoyed with it, she got up and opened the door. It turned out that opening the door was the worst thing she could've done.

"Preston? What are you doing here?" She asked tiredly, the lack of sleep starting to catch up with her..

"I wanted to talk to you."  
"At two in the morning?"

"It's not like you're asleep, is it?"  
"Not asleep, I probably should be though. I'm slightly tired."

"Slightly?" Preston laughed. "So, can I come in?"

"I...I really don't know if that's a great idea you know..."

"Mace, we've really gotta talk."  
She sighed. "Fine, come in." Preston walked in and Macey shut the door behind them. They went straight to the couch and sat down.

"So what exactly do we need to talk about?" Macey asked.

"Macey. I don't even know where to start. You never actually let me explain."  
"To be honest Preston, I don't want to know the details." She said in a tone of voice that revealed she was tired.  
"Have you spoken to Cammie yet?"

"I'm not talking to her." She stated plainly.

"It wasn't her fault, you know."

"Which part? The part where she slept with you or the part where she didn't tell me?"

"Both of it wasn't just her fault. I was the one that made the first move, I was the one that made her promise not to tell you. I started all of it Macey." Preston insisted but Macey didn't believe him.

"You're covering for her."

"I'm not. I swear. Look, ask me anything and I'll tell you. You heard what I said to Cammie on Christmas Eve, I don't want to keep things from you. You've been so open with me about everything. Your past relationships, the miscarriage, the state you were in after I left. It's only fair that you know."

"Why did it happen three times?"

"It..It just did. The second time I was drunk and I don't even remember what started it the third time..."  
"Did you guys actually have feelings for each other or...?"

"I don't know."

"What'd you mean, you don't know. You must know."

"Well if she had feelings for me, she never actually said that to me. And there was something, I won't deny it. But I didn't feel the same way about her as I do about you."  
"Right..."

"I know you can't forgive me automatically, i get that. I know that you might never be able to forgive me for the rest of your life. I understand perfectly if you want space or whatever but god Macey, I love you. And I don't think you realise how much..."

"I do. I do realise Preston and I love you too, but this is really hard for me. I'm not angry because of what happened. I mean, yeah it's extremely weird for me and the thought of it makes me feel kinda sick but the reason i'm so angry at Cammie is because she didn't tell me. I get why _you_ didn't tell me because we weren't actually talking but she could have told me."  
"I made her promise not to."  
"But she was my best friend long before she knew you. Priorities, Preston."

"I know. But you should still talk to her. Call her in the morning or something, meet up with her and talk. You can't throw your friendship away over something like this."

"I suppose you're right. I'll call her tomorrow or whatever." She said, yawning. "God, I'm so tired."  
"Right,well I better go then.." Preston said, starting to get up but Macey grabbed his arm and pulled him back towards her.

"Don't...don't leave."

"Did you have something else to say?" Preston asked, sitting back down ready to listen.

"Preston, I don't want you to leave."

"You have no idea how much I wanted to hear that sentence." Preston said and without warning, Macey leaned in and kissed him. The kisses were rushed, desperate. Almost as if they both felt that they would be taken away from each other at any moment. That one of them would disappear and never come back. It was nearly 3am, and the only thing that they were both certain of was how much they wanted each other, how much they needed each other.

All of a sudden, Preston pulled back slightly. "Macey... if this is going where I think...i just...are you sure...?"

Macey grabbed hold of Preston's hand and got up, pulling him towards her room. "Yes Preston, now please, stop talking." She laughed slightly as she cupped his face in her hands and kissed him again.

Macey shut the door behind them, leaving any worries or doubts that either of them had outside of that room.

* * *

**Guys, there's like 2 chapters left until this thing ends. Boohoo. I cry.**

**Anyways, Thank you for reading :) x**


	20. Chapter 19

**I'm gonna try and update at least twice today because I go back to school tomorrow and idk about you guys but I don't want to wait a week.**

**So yeah,**

**Enjoy x**

**DISCLAIMER: Haven't done this for a while, but the series isn't mine it belongs to Ally Carter and you get the idea.**

* * *

As Macey opened her eyes, she saw the sun seeping in through the curtains in her bedroom. Her head was rested on Preston's chest and as she moved, he began to stir. As she was sitting up, a strong wave of nausea rushed through Macey. She got straight up, ran to the bathroom and locked herself in.

Preston, startled awake by her sudden movement, got up and walked over to the bathroom door. He knocked and then called out "Mace? Macey what's wrong?"

She didn't reply.

"Macey?"

"I'm fine." She called back, her voice cracking slightly.

"You sure?"

Macey opened the door and came out of the bathroom. "I'm fine."  
"What happened?" He asked.

"I just didn't feel too good, that's all." Macey said, sitting back down on the bed.

"I'm gonna make coffee, did you want some?"

"Ye...actually no, thanks."

"God you must be seriously ill if you don't want coffee." Preston joked as he walked out the room.

Macey felt like crap. This was the third morning in a row that she had woken up feeling seriously nauseous which was then followed by her actually puking. She had a feeling she knew what the cause of it all was, and she was terrified. When Preston had left the room, she snuck back into the bathroom and pulled out a box from the cabinet under the sink. This was the third time in her life that she'd had to take a pregnancy test and it never got any easier.

To Macey, it felt like the longest wait of her life. In real time, it was 4 minutes. She could just hear Preston walking back into the bedroom when the results of the test flashed up with a blue cross, indicating that she was pregnant.

"Shit" She exclaimed rather loudly, and Preston walked to the doorway of the bathroom.

"What's up?" He asked, and then he saw the test stick in her hand. "Is that...?"

Macey nodded. "It's positive." She mumbled, looking down at the floor. Preston walked over to Macey, who was sitting on the side of the bathtub, and sat down next to her.

"How are we feeling about this?" he asked but she just shook her head.

"I...I can't put what i'm feeling into words because I don't know what to call it."

"I can tell you're not happy..."

"It's not that. I'm really freaking scared. I never thought that I would have kids after the miscarriage and this is just... i'm terrified." She sighed and walked back into the bedroom. Macey threw herself onto the bed and buried her face in a pillow.

"Penny for your thoughts."  
"My thoughts are a mess right now."

"Just talk to me Mace."

"Where do I start?"

"Tell me what's going through your mind."

"Okay. Well i'm absolutely terrified about the fact that i'm pregnant because of what happened last time. And don't get me wrong, I do want kids I just don't know if i'm in the right place at the moment. With everything that's gone on with us recently I don't know whether it would be the best thing for us. Things are still rocky at the moment anyway and I don't know if having a baby would just make it more difficult. And god forbid we were to split up or you were to leave because i'm literally not talking to anyone else right now. So i'd be stuck."

"Listen, I get how scary this must be for you because of the miscarriage and i am so sorry that I wasn't there to give you support when that happened. But i'm here now. And i'm not planning on leaving anytime soon. I think this baby might be a good thing for us. It might help us to be able to overcome what's happened in the past and work through it so that we can focus on the future. We _can _do it Macey. We _will."_

"Okay." Macey said simply, shocking Preston a little.

"Okay?" He questioned.

"Yes, okay. I don't doubt that we can do it. It'll all be fine. I know that I can do it if you're with me throughout everything that happens but if you were to leave me again..."

"I told you Macey, if I can help it I'm not going anywhere. You have to trust me on that."

"You need to try and understand that right now, trusting you is an extremely difficult thing for me to do. You lied to me. You lied straight to my face and told me that nothing had happened. It may have been to protect me or to stop me getting jealous or whatever but it was still a lie. And it's made me spend a whole month questioning everything that's ever happened between us."  
"I'm sorry for that. I'm so, so sorry and I could apologise to you a thousand times everyday forever and it still wouldn't be enough. I'm gonna spend the rest of my life trying to make it all up to you."

"Good." Macey said, smiling slightly.

A few seconds later, there was a knock at the door.

"I'll go get it" Preston said, getting up off of the bed and walking out to the front door. He opened it, and Cammie stood there in front of him. "You got here quickly." He said.

"Me and Zach were in DC already, we have been for a week. I figured that I should come see Macey at some point and then you called this morning..."

"Well, come in then." He said as Cammie walked in, and he shut the door behind them. Preston walked into the bedroom but Cammie stayed out for a minute. Macey looked up "Who was it?" she asked.

"Don't flip out at me, I called Cammie earlier." He said, and Cammie walked into the room.

She looked at Macey "Hey" she said with a facial expression that neither Preston or Macey could read.

"Hey."

"Well on that note, i'm gonna go and find something way more interesting to do." Preston said, walking out of the room and leaving the apartment.

"Idiot." Macey muttered under her breath, making Cammie laugh slightly. "Come sit down." Macey said to Cammie, who sat down opposite Macey on the bed.

"So..."

"Look, Preston talked to me about what happened. He explained that he was the one that told you not to say anything. So i'm sorry, I should've just confronted you both about it instead of ignoring you."

"I get it Macey, I really do. It just pissed me off how you were ignoring Preston to start with. I know you haven't spoken to him for a month but it's not the point."

"I was never angry about what happened, I was angry because nobody told me about it. You were in contact with me at the time, Preston wasn't. It frustrated me because we've been best friends since we were 15 and you met Preston through me. And then you sleep with him 3 times and you take his side by not telling me. I know that's not how it was but it's how it felt."  
"I'm sorry Macey. I don't know how to explain how sorry I am. Ask me anything, i'll tell you."

"He said that he made the first move."

"That's true."

"Why did you let him?"

"Macey, it was 3 years ago..."  
"You said you'd tell me if I wanted to know. Now I want to know."

"Fireworks."

"What?"

"When I went missing that summer, when I was in Rome. I saw Preston, we kissed, you know that. When he kissed me, everything came rushing back at full speed. I couldn't think straight about anything and I couldn't stop it. My emotions got the better of me, and i'm sorry. I don't know what it was about him that caused everything to come flooding back like that everytime."  
"He does that. It's like, you kiss and you either lose your senses or remember everything. Sometimes it's both, and god it hurts like hell."

"It's like that all the time? How do you survive it, how do you walk around with somebody that has the power to destroy you in seconds?"

"We all do, some of us just do it subconsciously. Which, I suppose, is better. When you're aware that your love is dangerous then it makes your relationship fragile."

"What's going on with you and Preston? Are you together, are you not?"

"It's..."

"Complicated? I got that."  
"He came over at 2am, all apologetic and whatnot. We sat up talking for an hour and then I said I was tired. He was going to leave, but I practically begged him not to and then I kissed him."  
"Did you..?"

"Yeah. I didn't mean for it to end up like that but i got carried away, caught up in the moment. You know what I mean."

"Too well."

"And then I woke up this morning..."

"What happened?"

"I puked, for the 3rd day in a row. I took a pregnancy test. I'm 6 weeks pregnant." Macey said, with fear in her voice. "I wasn't going to to tell you, because it's so early but I felt like I should."  
"You didn't have to."

"I did."

"Why?"

"I'm gonna need you, for support. God I know it's only been 5 weeks but i've missed having you to talk to." Macey sighed, pulling Cammie into a tight hug which they both needed.

"I've missed you too Macey." Cammie smiled.

The pair of them continued talking for at least another 7 hours. They discussed everything and Macey realised that by isolating herself, she had missed a lot. Abby had gotten into a serious argument with Townsend over the fact that he knew about Cammie and Preston and hadn't told her. They were barely talking. Rachel found out that Joe knew, but she was more worried about Cammie's situation with Macey than anything else;she knew that her daughter probably had a good reason for what she had done. Liz was completely horrified, for a while she had considered not talking to Cammie herself, but then she realised that it'd probably do more harm than good. They talked and talked until all of their issues were completely worked out.

When Cammie left that night, both her and Macey felt refreshed. It had been too long, and they had missed each other too much.

* * *

**Nawww conflict resolution. How adorable.**

**Two chapters left from now. (I wasn't sure last time, I'm sure now)**

**Anyways,**

**Thank you for reading :) x**


	21. Chapter 20

**If it's quality not quantity then good luck reading this one because it's both short _AND_ terrible.**

**Enjoy, if possible x**

* * *

It had been 2 days since Macey and Cammie had sorted everything out and they both felt better for it. However, Macey didn't feel better about anything else. She'd been extremely sick every morning, she was ridiculously tired and even more cranky than usual. Preston was being amazingly supportive towards her though, and it didn't do unnoticed. Everytime she went to do something, Preston would offer to help. He'd keep bringing her glasses of water to make sure she wasn't dehydrated, he would constantly be offering to make her something to eat and he barely left her side.

"How you feeling today?" He asked,sitting down next to her on the couch.

"I am growing a child in my womb. I constantly need to pee, I can't stand the smell of coffee let alone the taste, I can't stop puking and i'm exhausted without even doing anything. How do you think i'm feeling?" She snapped, but Preston had gotten used to it.

Over the past week, Macey had become even less tolerant of anything and everything, especially Preston. "Sorry." She mumbled, realising that she had sounded more irritable than she actually was. Preston laughed a little to himself.

"Whats funny?" Macey asked defensively.

"Nothing." Preston said, trying to hold back the laughter.

"Seriously? What's funny?" Macey repeated.

"One of your biggest concerns is the fact that you can't drink coffee without wanting to puke. It's kinda hilarious." he replied.

"Idiot." Macey said, hitting him with a pillow.

"Wow. I'm so totally offended by your insult." He said sarcastically and Macey rolled her eyes at him.

They stayed silent for a few minutes. Preston could tell by the expression on her face that Macey was deep in thought. After a minute, he decided to ask what was troubling her.

"You look like you're thinking about something."

"That's because I was."

"You wanna tell me...?"

"No...No it's nothing..."  
"That means it's something. I know what you're like, now tell me."  
"Ughhh fine, but promise you won't get annoyed or anything?"

"Macey..."  
"Promise."  
"Fine, I promise I won't get annoyed."  
"I kinda wish you hadn't been here when I found out about being pregnant. I wouldn't have told you straight away, I would've waited until I absolutely had to tell you. And I wouldn't have told anyone else either. I'd have to deal with it by myself, like usual."  
"How long would you have waited to tell me?" he asked.

"Like I said, until I absolutely had to tell you. So until I started showing really obviously or until something happened. Like last time."

"It might not be the same you know, it might not happen again. Sometimes it just happens once."  
"Preston..."

"Macey, you can't just keep looking back at what happened before. You were under a hell of a lot more stress than you are this time and you had absolutely nobody."

"I know. I just can't help but think that it's gonna happen again. I didn't accept that it had happened for a long time, so I found it really hard to get over it."  
"Random question for you. Did you get any counselling after the miscarriage happened?"

"No, I just shut myself away from everyone for 6 months. I stayed at my cabin and just broke contact with everybody. I never actually talked to anybody about what happened, they just know that I lost the baby."  
"We can talk about it, if you want.."  
"I suppose you have a right to know.."  
"No, that doesn't matter. You don't have to.."  
"I want to. I need to. There isn't much to tell, I went for the 12 week scan and they couldn't find a heartbeat. I had to take tablets to pass the tissue because it was missed miscarriage and they hadn't picked up on it so the tissue was still in my body. It's all very technical. Oh and..they said they thought it was a boy.." A few tears spilled out of Macey's eyes and ran down her cheeks.

Preston pulled her over towards him and she laid her head down in his lap. "I'm sorry Mace.."

"It's okay. Really, I just haven't spoken about it since...ever." Macey said,still crying a little.

"It's not okay. I'm sorry you had to go through it by yourself."

"I know."  
"I'm here this time, and we're going to do this. We'll have this baby and it's gonna be the best thing that's ever happened to either of us."

"Preston..."  
"I'm not taking no for an answer."

"Just as well I wasn't going to disagree then." She smiled.

It was times like this, when they were alone and in the most simple circumstances, that Macey felt that it was okay for her to be herself. She could talk and cry and bare her soul to the one person that she had relied on for a little too long. Because even like this, with tear-stained cheeks and messy hair, Preston saw how beautiful she was. And it wasn't in the way that the rest of the world saw her. It wasn't just superficial, it was internal. It was simple and understated, yet delicate and perfect.

* * *

**Last paragraph was hella dramatic annnnd it's the only part I actually like from this chapter. It's basically just Pacey cuteness and as much as I ship them, I dislike this chapter.**

**IF I SAID THAT IT WAS 2 CHAPTERS TILL THE END LAST TIME THEN IM SORRY I GOT CONFUSED IM DROWNING IN FANFIC CHAPTERS.**

**Anyways,**

**Thank you for reading :)**


	22. Chapter 21

**If I've written this as well as I thought then y'all might wanna grab a tissue.**

**Cause I cried whilst writing it, but that's probably just because I'm an frustrated, confused, emotional wreck at the moment. **

**Anyways, Enjoy x**

* * *

It was exactly 1:06am when Macey McHenry woke up that night. It was exactly 1:07am when Macey realised that something was wrong. She didn't want to wake him, but she knew that she had to. So she tapped Preston's shoulder lightly until he woke up.

"Mace, what time is it?"

"1am." She said, her voice trembling in the same way that her body was.

"Macey, what's wrong? Did you have a nightmare?"

"No. No it wasn't a nightmare."

"What's wrong, talk to me?"

"I'm cramping, and there's blood."

"Crap. We've gotta get you to the hospital."

"No, Preston..."

"Macey, come on, get up." He helped her up and she pulled her shoes on. He gave her one of his sweatshirts and she pulled it over her head as they walked out to his car.

The car journey to the hospital was silent. Completely silent. Preston was trying so hard not to panic, for both himself and for Macey. Macey was just sitting there quietly, but her thoughts were anything but silent. She was terrified. She was praying so hard that everything was alright. Everything had to be alright. She'd been doing everything as she was supposed to, so why would it go wrong?

When they arrived at George Washington Hospital, everything became a blur to Macey. Preston stood there speaking to a doctor, who had tried to speak to Macey but she couldn't focus on the words being said. Then, she was in a hospital gown sitting in a bed in the maternity ward of the hospital. The doctors had done a blood test, and an ultrasound and other various scans. But now they were having to wait for the results. Preston sat in the chair next to Macey, holding her hand as she tried not to cry.

"It might be okay. It could just be spotting or whatever.." Preston started, but Macey shook her head.

"Preston...something just feels wrong. I can't tell you what, because I don't know but something's wrong."

"Just calm down, don't stress yourself out anymore."

"That's a lot easier said than done." Macey mumbled.

The doctors had rushed the tests, so the results had come back quite quickly. But it still felt like an eternity for Macey and Preston. Macey had dropped off to sleep whilst they were waiting, and when the doctor arrived Preston had to wake her.

"Macey honey, the doctor's back." He said, and she woke up almost immediately.

The doctor stood there with a rather solemn look on her face. "We have your results back, Ms McHenry. I'm afraid to say that..." Macey had already burst into tears. "You've had a miscarriage. There was nothing you could've done. I'm very sorry for your loss..."  
The doctor continued to speak about the technicalities of the situation but neither Macey nor Preston heard what she was saying. Eventually, she left them in the room alone and the only sound to be heard was that of Macey's persistent sobbing.

"I knew we couldn't do this, something had to go wrong. Damn it. Why does this always happen?" she had tried to speak, but just broken down in tears again.

"Mace, it wasn't anyone's fault. You heard the doctor." Preston sat on the edge of the bed and held Macey, who was hysterical again.

The hospital had allowed Macey to stay in overnight, but she had refused. So she got dressed again and walked out of the car, not letting go of Preston until they got there.

"Preston, don't take me home yet. Just drive, please?" Macey asked, closing her eyes and resting her head against the window of the car.

"Okay." Preston said, and began to drive.

They had been driving for two hours, and Macey was fast asleep. Preston pulled over at a service station, unlocked his phone and called Cammie. It rang twice before she picked up.

"Hello?" She answered sleepily.

"Hey Cam."

"Preston? It's 5am."  
"I know."

"Where are you? What's wrong?"

"Are you still in DC?"

"No, we're at Gallagher. Everyone's here. Preston, what's wrong?"

"I can't give you the full story now, we'll be at Gallagher in an hour."

"Preston!?"

"Bye Cam." he ended the call, and continued driving.

* * *

Cammie heard the line go dead and sighed. What the hell was going on? Preston sounded like he had been crying, and Preston never cried. She didn't know what to do, or what she was was 5am and Preston and Macey would be here in an hour but she had no idea why. For a second she thought she should wake Zach, but she turned over and saw that he wasn't even there. He probably couldn't sleep and had gone for a walk, it happened a lot lately.

She didn't remember falling asleep, but she must've because the next thing she knew, Zach was calling her and trying to wake her up.

"Gallagher girl, seriously. You need to get up."  
"Why? What's wrong?"

"Preston's car just pulled through the gates."

"Oh crap. I forgot to tell you." She sat bolt upright. "I got a call from Preston at like 5am, he said they'd be here in an hour but he didn't tell me why."

"Was everything okay the other day, when you saw them?"

"Yeah, I mean...Oh my god. No, not again." Cammie exclaimed as she pulled her shoes on.

"What? Cam, what is it?"

"Macey told me she was six weeks pregnant."

"And?"

"Zach, what happened last time?"

"Oh god, no." he sighed and followed Cammie who had sprinted out of the room faster than a lightning bolt. Zach caught up with her and they both ran out of the mansion to Preston's car.

* * *

Preston saw Cammie and Zach running out of the mansion towards the car. He decided to wake Macey.

"Macey. Macey, wake up."

"What? Where are we?"

"We're at Gallagher." he said and Macey began to cry again. Cammie and Zach approached the car and Preston got out and walked around to them.

"Preston, what's wrong, what happened?" Zach asked as Cammie rushed to the passenger side of the car and opened the door to get to Macey.

"She...she.." Preston broke down in tears and couldn't form his sentence. Zach grabbed hold of him and pulled him into a hug.

"Preston, calm down. It'll be okay." Zach tried to calm him, but Preston wouldn't stop crying. Zach had never seen him so distraught.

Cammie had opened the door of the car and was trying to stop Macey's tears.

"Cam, I don't know what I did, I didn't do anything wrong. Did I do something wrong?" Macey looked up at her with tears in her eyes.

Cammie shook her head. "No, no you didn't do anything wrong Macey."

"Then why did it happen? Do i deserve this? Is this supposed to happen to me?"

"No, Macey. Listen to me. You of all people do not deserve this, you deserve to be happy. With an amazing life with an amazing husband and amazing kids. I can't tell you why this has happened to you, it shouldn't have happened to you but it has. And you'll get through it. It's all gonna be okay Macey."

"Preston...where is he? Is he okay?"

"He's with Zach. And he's crying. He won't stop crying."

Macey got up out of the car and walked over to where Zach and Preston were.

"Macey, are you o...?" Preston wiped the tears of off his face and looked up at Macey.

"No, I'm not. But neither are you." Macey sighed and pulled him into a hug. After a minute, he pulled back.

"You should go and get some sleep."  
"You need to sleep too." Zach said to Preston. "Both of you, go up and get some rest. There's a few spare rooms in the wing where we were at Christmas, go find one and sleep. Both of you" He said, and Preston nodded.

"Macey." Cammie called out and Macey turned around. "The others are here, they don't know... do you want me to...?"

"Tell them. I don't think I can." She looked down and began to walk inside with Preston. They walked upstairs and found an empty room. They lay back in the bed and Macey looked over at Preston "This wasn't our fault." She said.

"No. It wasn't. It doesn't make it any easier, but it wasn't our fault." he said, and Macey nodded. Within minutes, Preston was fast asleep but Macey lay there, with one single thought swimming around her brain.

_This wasn't our fault._

* * *

**THIS WAS REALLY HARD FOR ME TO WRITE AND I'M KINDA IN TEARS NOW OKAY?**

**One chapter left, and then all is done.**

**I might do an epilogue though... I'm really tempted actually.**

**But, until the next (and potentially last) time,**

**Thank you for reading :) x**


	23. Chapter 22

**I'm gonna do a thing. The thing is posting the last chapter.**

**This is the last chapter.**

**Enjoy x**

* * *

When Macey woke up the next morning, she was alone in the room. She had no idea where Preston was and it worried her.

_When did I become so dependent on him? _She thought to herself just as there was a knock at the door.

"Macey? You awake?" It was Liz.

"Yeah, I'm awake." Macey called back and Liz entered the room. She came and sat down on the edge of the bed where Macey had slept.

"Cammie told us, are you okay?"

"Not really. I can't think straight, my head hurts and i'm so exhausted. What time is it?"

"11 o'clock. The others are all in Rachel's office, Preston's there too."  
"He's worried about you Macey." Cammie said, walking into the room with Bex behind her and shutting the door.

"I know. Is he okay though, it was a bit of a shock for him too and.."  
"He's not great. But he's more worried about the effect that it's had on you." Bex said.

"If I say something, you guys can't call me weird or crazy or whatever."

"What is it?" Liz asked and the other girls looked up at Macey, waiting for her to speak.

"I think...I think the miscarriage was a sign. I think it's a way of telling me that me and Preston aren't gonna work."  
There was silence for a few moments, but then Bex piped up "Nope, you sound crazy. Like really super duper borderline psychopath lock-her-in-an-asylum crazy."

Cammie and Liz glared at Bex. "_What?_ I'm just saying, it's a little bit irrational." Bex said defensively.

"If you feel like it's wrong, and that it's not gonna work then you should end it. Go with your gut instinct Macey." Liz voiced her opinion.

"Thanks guys. But, Cammie?" Macey said, looking directly into the eyes of the girl who was the greatest best friend that Macey McHenry had ever had.

"Look, I can't make this decision for you. I can't tell you to end it with him, because you guys are amazing together. It's the most predictable relationship in the history of predictable relationships. Senator's daughter and Ambassador's son? Do you _need_ me to hand you the white picket fence award? But I can't tell you to stay with him because you _do_ have your faults. You're both so stubborn and won't admit how much you love each other. He hurts you, unintentionally obviously, but you've still gotten hurt. I'm not gonna tell you to fight to make it work but I'm not gonna tell you to end it badly. You need to sit and talk with him about this..."

"Talk with who...?" The door opened, and Preston walked in.

"She needs to talk with you, because Mystic McHenry seems to think that the miscarriage is a sign that she shouldn't be with you. Now, we're gonna leave and you're gonna talk. Okay?" Bex stated very plainly and Macey laughed a little.

Cammie, Liz and Bex all got up off of the bed and walked out of the room, leaving Macey and Preston completely alone.

"What's going on Mace?" Preston said, sitting down.

"I don't know if I can do this anymore Preston."

"Do what?"

"This relationship.."  
"Macey..."  
"And it's not because I don't love you. I love you so much it hurts, it consumes me, it overwhelms me to the point where I can't breathe. It scares me, it's always scared me how I constantly manage to let you affect me so much. With every other person I've met I put a wall up, there's a guard that's unbreakable. It stops me from letting people see who I am. You continuously break down that barrier, you always have done. The way I feel about you drives me insane, i'd do anything for you."

"I know that. And you know that I feel the same. So I still don't understand..."

"We've never been perfect. It always made me laugh when everybody said we were the perfect couple. White House wedding, whatever. Because we're not, and we never had been. I was scared of having a relationship with you when we were teenagers, so we kept it a secret. And then you moved to Rome and we never spoke until Cammie was trying to figure out what happened that summer. And then after graduation we were so lost. I was trying to get on with my life, and you didn't know where your's was going. But we made it work. And then you left me, for the most ridiculous reasons. I lost the baby, which you didn't know about. Then we found each other again, at the most inconvenient time. I had moved on, or at least I thought I had. You kissed me and everything came back. We've been through so much Preston."  
"It might not be like this forever though."

"I know. But I can't chance that, and neither can you. Everything we do comes back to hurt one of us. We're killing each other Preston, can't you see?"

"I've tried to ignore it. I know that we keep hurting each other, and I've tried to pretend that it's not affecting us. I don't want this to end badly though Macey, I can't let this end badly."

"We could try being friends."

"It'd be so awkward though, think about it."

"I can't cut you out of my life completely. Not again. 5 years was long enough, but the rest of my life? I can't do that. I need you in my life Preston. I might not be able to live with you _as_ my life but sure as hell can't live without you being in it. And yeah, it's gonna be extremely awkward. God help when the press finds out about your next girlfriend because they'll rip her to shreds. The awkwardness will go with time, it'll be okay. And it might not be like this forever, maybe after a while we'll gravitate back towards each other. But for now, we can't. We'll be friends, good friends. We can hug and watch movies together and call each other at 2am. But that's as far as it goes."

"So I can't call you at 3am?" Preston said, laughing.

"That is so not what I meant, and you know it." Macey laughed slightly too.

"We should probably tell the others, right?"

"Yeah." Macey said, getting up off of the bed and walking down to the Headmistress's office with Preston by her side. They knocked and waited, and a few seconds later Abby opened the door.

"Hey Abby." Macey said.

"Hey Macey, I won't ask you if you're alright because you'll lie. Do you need anything?" she asked as Macey and Preston walked in.

"Is a hug too much to ask for?" she asked and Abby laughed a little, pulling Macey into a hug. After a few seconds, everybody else joined in on the hug, including Townsend.

A minute later, Macey had had enough of being sandwiched and called out "Okay, okay. Y'all can get off of me now." and everybody broke away. There were various conversations going on around the room when Preston came over to Macey's side.

"Did you want to announce it, or shall I?" He asked

"We'll do it together, just get their attention." Macey said and Preston coughed to draw attention to himself and Macey. It worked, as everybody looked up.

"We, erm...We just wanted to tell you all while we're all here together that..."

"Me and Preston have split up, it was a mutual decision and despite the awkwardness that it's gonna cause, we're gonna stay friends. We just thought you should know."

Cammie, Bex and Liz came over to Macey.

"You did it then?" Bex said.

"We agreed that it was best for both of us. And we've left it open, so if we feel like we could try again in future then we will. But for now, it's over."

"Are you okay?" Liz asked.

"I can breathe Lizzie, so yeah. I'm okay."

"Mace...I have something to tell you and I'm not sure how you're gonna react..." Cammie started.

"Are you gonna tell me that you're running away with my ex-boyfriend? Because we broke up 5 minutes ago and I'm not cool with that..." Macey said and the others laughed.

"No...er..."

"Come on Cam!"  
"Zach proposed last night, finally. And we were wondering..."

"CAMMIE! Oh my god! And yes I will absolutely totally plan your wedding."

"Haha, thank you Macey. But I have a condition..."

"No Cam, no you not recall how much I _detest_ those things?"

"It's not the flower arrangement Mace, Me and Zach have already picked a date."

"_Please_ tell me you're not getting married on the 4th of July. Do you know how tacky that is?"

"We were thinking August. Neither of us have any missions in August and we spoke to the director and..."

"Wait wait wait, _this_ August? August this year? That gives me like, 7 months. And hello, not enough time. Your maid of honour is gonna have her work cut out...who is it by the way?"

"Well I was hoping..."

"Awww Cam, that's sweet. Like, really sweet but are you _trying_ to kill me? Obviously, I accept the job happily but what is this? A post-Preston-project?"

Cammie, Bex and Liz laughed. "Yes Mace, that's exactly what it is."

And Macey thought that they were joking, but her friends knew what was best for her. So for the next 7 months, Macey threw herself into the work that she had been given mixed with the job that she had neglected for so long. She kept in contact with everybody, including Preston. After everything they had been through, both together and apart, they were finally in a happier place. And surprisingly, they made better friends than they did anything else. Macey still attacked him with her usual sarcasm and he retaliated with intelligence. They'd meet up for coffee and discuss work once a month. It was the healthiest breakup that anybody had ever heard of. Both of them remained single, and out of the public eye. And eventually, they had realised that stepping back from reality for a while had done them the world of good.

* * *

**And I'm ending it there. Right here. Because Epilogue.**

**:) x**


	24. Epilogue

**I said that there would be an epilogue, so as promised. **

**Enjoy x**

* * *

*****7 MONTHS LATER (August 14th)*****

Macey McHenry was proud. She had planned Cammie and Zach's wedding right down to the last detail and it was perfect. The ceremony itself had been simple but sweet. The groomsmen in black tuxedos with green bow ties and the bridesmaids in knee length lilac dresses with small green embellishments on the hemline. Zach also had a black tux, except his bow tie was red, which matched the red hairpin on Cammie's head. The flower arrangements were exquisite,white tulips, much to Macey's disagreement. But this wasn't her wedding, this was her best friend's wedding and she had planned it exactly as she had been told. Although everybody else looked pretty amazing, Macey hadn't forgotten that this was Cammie's day and she was determined to emphasise that with the perfect dress. The gown was a 1950's style dress in the purest shade of white ever seen with red gems strategically placed along the hemline. Everything looked amazing. Everything _was_ amazing.

But the part that Macey was most impressed with was the reception. Sure, the actual wedding had gone well and it _had _been amazing. But at the reception, everything was a little bit more relaxed so coincidentally,so was Macey. The only thing that she had to do was deliver a speech, as the maid of honour it was one of her duties which she had happily accepted.

Joe's speech was first, and it went in the traditional style of a Father-Of-The-Bride speech. He thanked everybody for coming, complimented Cammie, expressed his pride towards Zach and welcomed him into the family and made a few terrible jokes that made everyone cringe.

Next, it was Zach's turn. "I'm gonna keep this short because let's face it, I'm not bad at most things but public speaking is a big exception." He began. He continued by expressing his gratitude to all of the guests for coming and for bringing gifts. Then he thanked the groomsmen, for being such important parts of his life and for supporting him and Cammie. And then his final section of the speech was entirely about Cammie. He finished with "I've never been sure of anything. My whole life has always been crazy, mostly due to my ever-changing, extremely messed up family. But now _you're_ my family, and yeah, you may be a little bit crazy too. But I think we both are, and although it sounds strange. Our craziness is what keeps me sane, and I wouldn't change it for the world." There were choruses of clapping and 'awww' noises from the guests as Zach sat back down.

And then it was the turn of the best man, Preston.

"Unlike Zach, I'm good at public speaking. It's what I do, what I've always done from a weirdly young age. But normally I'd know what to say. And how do you describe something so intricate, detailed and complex? I've asked myself that question countless times about various things in my life. But it applies especially to Zach and Cammie. Because what they have is a bond, a love, something stronger than most of us will ever witness in our whole lives. So how one can stand up in front of all their friends and family and compliment them is questionable. All of the words in the world would not be powerful enough to praise what they have, so in a way it would be insulting. So we can't delineate their marriage, but do we really need to? No. But we must congratulate them, because few people can obtain the kind of love that they have. So, let's raise a toast. To Zach and Cammie"  
Everybody repeated, and raised their glasses as Preston sat down.

Now it was Macey's turn. As she got up, she turned and looked at Cammie. "Showtime." She whispered, as Cammie smiled graciously at her.

"Ladies and Gentlemen, let me just start by saying that although Preston may have been doing this for a long time, so have I. The difference, I frequently do it in 6 inch heels. Without complaint."

Everybody laughed, but Macey was far from in her comfort zone.

"I stand here today, as the maid of honour and hostess of my best friend's wedding with many emotions. The main one? Pride. I'm extremely proud of Cammie because she is many things. She's smart, funny, beautiful and just the right amount of crazy. And that's why Zach's so lucky. In fact, I don't know if he'll ever realise how lucky he is. Because Cammie could be attempting to stop the apocalypse on three separate planets and she'd still try and help someone she loves. I know this, because Cammie is one of the only people who helped me through a few of the most difficult times in my life. She was there when everyone else wasn't, and for that I'll be eternally grateful.

But I'm going off track, this day isn't just about Cammie. It's about both Cammie and Zach. Preston said it perfectly, we can't delineate their marriage. But I think we could all learn from it. No matter what they go through, their love for each other doesn't change. It stays untouched, untainted,unbreakable. They've had their ups and downs. And I mean a hell of a lot of downs. But they get through it, they get past it. Because their love for each other is too strong to be broken. Some people think that it's fate, but I honestly don't. I think, that if two people love each other enough then it should work. Soul mates isn't a thing that I believe it. It's all about determination, and honesty. If you really love someone, you'll sacrifice everything you have to be with them. If you don't do that, you don't love them enough. You never really did.

Maybe we shouldn't try and explain what they have. Because it's an unexplainable thing. But we should look up to it, and learn. Cammie and Zach have taught me so much. Both as individuals and as a couple. Cammie has taught me that I'm never alone, Zach has taught me that not everybody will always agree with you and together? Together, they've taught me that if you're willing to fight for something you want then you're sure to get it.

So, I'd like to thank everybody for coming here today, to witness and celebrate the fact that two extraordinary people have officially become one phenomenal couple.

Thank you"

Macey sat down and everybody finished clapping and music began to play. Cammie turned to Macey.

"Mace, can I ask...Are you alright?"

"You asked me that this morning, and then again when we got to the church. He's here, we're cool and I am absolutely fine."

"Really?...because your speech..."

"What about it?"

"I loved it. Thank you." Cammie said, pulling Macey into a hug that she happily accepted.

"Good. Now go dance. It's your wedding."

"But Maceyyyy."

"Go. Dance."

"Fineee."

"Zach." Macey said, catching his attention.

"Yeah?"

"Go dance with Cam, now."

"Yes, sir!" He said, mocking her with a fake salute as he walked away with Cammie.

Macey was sat at the table by herself. She looked over towards the dance floor where Cammie was dancing with Zach. They looked happy, they _were_ happy. Mission accomplished, she thought to herself as she heard footsteps approaching her. She turned around to see Preston sat next to her.

"Hello stranger." He said.

"Oh, hi."  
"You alright? You've barely said two words to me all day."

"Been busy, that's all. Where's your date?"

"What date?"

"You're here by yourself?"

"Well actually I'm in a tent full of at least 500 people so.."  
"Seriously though."

"Yes, no date. Why are you so surprised?"

"Because. Single people normally bring dates to weddings. It's what happens"

"Where's your date then"?

"Ah well that's different. _I'm_ too busy."

"Excuses, excuses."

"Shut up, at least I _have _an excuse."

"I _do_ have an excuse."

"Oh, really? Go on, enlighten me."

"The girl I wanted to ask was busy. Had a wedding to plan or something." He chuckled to himself.

"Don't do that." Macey said harshly, all tones of amusement had left her voice and she was completely serious now.

"Do what?"

"You know what. That little remark constitutes flirting, which does not come under the sub-clause of 'breakup"

"Do you have this contract to hand or did you just make this up on the spot?"

"I'm just saying."

"So was I."

There was a silence, and it was awkward. Macey realised this, and decided to speak.

"Were you actually gonna ask me then?"

"Ask being the key word. But then I thought it'd be best if I didn't."

"I think you made the right call."  
"I figured that me asking you to be my date at a wedding doesn't really fit in with the whole 'gravitating back to each other' thing."  
"Not really. Just because we haven't dated other people yet doesn't mean that we should date each other."

"Yeah. And besides, we're good as friends."

"But we could just be making excuses..."  
"Macey..."

"Damn it why does this have to be so hard?" She sighed, and looked over towards the middle of the room where Zach and Cammie were dancing and laughing together. "Why can't we be like that?"

"We were. It doesn't last Mace, you know that. There are arguments and door slams and..."

"It doesn't have to be like that Preston. We _made_ it like that."

"Yes but Macey we made the decision to end it. Mutual decision, remember?"

"Right. And just because I regret it doesn't mean that you do.."  
"I never said that I didn't regret it."

"You didn't have to." Macey said, getting up and trying to walk away without making a scene but Preston pulled her back into her seat.

"Do we need to talk about this?"

"You don't _want_ to talk about this."  
"I didn't think that there was a _'this' _to talk about. Listen to me, I never said that I didn't regret the decision to break up. I spent weeks trying to figure out whether I was right or wrong, but eventually I just accepted the fact that we had made that decision and tried to move on. Do you think that I _want_ to be here by myself tonight? The only person I could even think about asking to be my date was you. And it's not like I'm short of choice Macey because there are thousands of girls out there. But they're not you. And the fact that I can't move on makes me sick, and worried. Because I've never loved anyone the way that I love it scares me to death because I don't know if I'll ever be able to love anybody else again."

"Yes."  
"Yes?"

"Yes. We _do_ need to talk about this. But not here, not now."  
"Macey..."

"No. Not tonight." She said, getting up out of her seat."

Macey walked away from the table, and into the crowd of people on the dance floor. Preston's eyes followed her as she walked over to Cammie, whispered something in her ear, hugged her and walked away again. Then he couldn't see her. She had been swallowed by the sea of familiar faces. She was gone. She had left. And he had let her go.

* * *

**I'm literally ending it there.**

**I'm considering a sequel because why not? And if I were to do a sequel, I know EXACTLY where I'd be going with it from here.**

**My number of views and reviews has decreased rapidly but I really don't mind tbh. I understand the fact that the story has gone off on so many tangents and the updating has been very unpredictable but I've decided with the next story I write imma have a certain day which I update on like a normal human.**

**Either way, thank you to everybody who has read and reviewed and supported me in general throughout this story. Much appreciation. :) x**


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